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YOUNG PEOPLE'S HISTORY 

OF 

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



By 
EVERETT T. TOMLINSON 

The Mysterious Rifleman 

Scouting on the Border 

The Pursuit of the 
Apache Chief 

The Trail of the 
Mohawk Chief 

Young People's History of the 

American Revolution 
\ 
Places Young Americans 

Want to Know 

Fighters Young Americans 
Want to Know 

The Story of General Pershing 

D. APPLETON & COMPANY 

PublUhert New York 



T2J4 B 




GEORGE WASHINGTON 
(From a painting by G. Stuart) 



YOUNG PEOPLE'S HISTORY 

OF THE 

AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

BY ^. 

C 

EVERETT T. TOMLINSON 

AUTHOR OF "PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW," "FIGHTERS 

YOUNG AMERICANS WANT TO KNOW," "THE STORY OF GENERAL 

PERSHING," "SCOUTING ON THE BORDER," "THE PURSUIT OF THE 

APACHE CHIEF," ETC. 




ILLUSTRATED 



D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

NEW YORK :: 1921 :: LONDON 



£Z08 



COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 



©CI.A6175-12 



Copyright, 1901, by Doubleday, Page & Co. 

MINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



JUL -171 



rt 



PREFACE 

In this narrative of the struggle of our forefathers to win 
the independence of the United States, I have incorporated 
many authentic though unfamiliar incidents which formed a 
vital part of the War of the American Revolution. There has 
been no attempt to belittle the courage and determination of 
the hardy soldiers, but the heroism and sufferings of the people 
also are worthy of recognition. Deeds of individual heroism, 
the fortitude of the scattered and lonely families that were 
left to the mercy of marauding bands while the men were 
absent fighting with the colonial troops, the daring of the 
farmer's boys, the resistance offered by the women left to till 
the soil in the absence of their protectors, are all true and form 
a part of a record which should never be ignored or forgotten. 
It is true that occasional incidents of the historic struggle have 
been recorded in poetry and prose, but other deeds, equally 
indicative of the spirit of '76, have been neglected. In a de- 
sire to keep these alive as a vital part of the price paid for the 
liberties Americans today enjoy I have included many of them 
for the benefit of the young people, particularly for those who 
are the children of men and women that came to this land after 
independence had been won and by that fact perhaps are not 
fully aware of the price that was paid for the freedom they 
have received. 

I have been careful to include nothing that did not have a 
basis of truth. Old family letters and records, diaries of sol- 
diers, articles that appeared in early newspapers, private collec- 
tions of verified tales, trustworthy books of the period have 
provided me with a mass of material which I am glad to pass 

v 



vi PREFACE 

on to the boys and girls of the present day in the hope that they 
will hold up the principles and precepts which their ancestors 
so worthily upheld. 

The philosophy of the events of that time, the study of the 
principles which were moving men of all classes and different 
nations, the detailed and critical following of the military 
movements are not a primary part of this work. It is rather (at 
least it has been the aim of the writer) to present a narative of 
the events which constitute the long and weary struggle and to 
give a reasonably correct picture of what was done by the sol- 
dier and the patriot — the men and women who dared to rebel 
against the strongest power on earth and having once deter- 
mined to have a land of their own were willing to pay in full 
the price which was demanded for their freedom and inde- 
pendence. 

Everett T. Tomlinson 

Elizabeth, New Jersey 




Mouse in which the Declaration of Independence was written (Philadelphia, 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTM , AGB 

I. The People in America I 

II. The Beginnings of the Trouble 8 

III. The First Bloodshed 22 

IV. The Resort to Arms 34 

V. The Choice of a Commander 42 

VI. The Fall of Fort Ticonderoga 51 

VII. Bunker Hill 5 8 

VIII. The Continental Soldiers 68 

IX. The March on Quebec and the Evacuation of Boston . . 76 

X. Independence 8e 

XI. Moore's Creek and Sullivan's Island 96 

XII. The Struggle on Long Island 102 

XIII. Events in and near New York 115 

vii 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTB* PAGE 

XIV. The Flight across the Jerseys 130 

XV. Trenton and Princeton 139 

XVI. Arnold and Carleton 1 54 

XVII. Preparing for a New Campaign 160 

XVIII. Burgoyne's Plans and Tryon's March upon Danbury . .166 

XIX. The Invasion by John Burgoyne 173 

XX. Bennington . .186 

XXI. In the Mohawk Valley . . ... . .191 

XXII. Burgoyne's Surrender 204 

XXIII. Brandywine and Germantown. The Story of the Flag . 212 

XXIV. Monmouth and Newport . . . . . . . 227 

XXV. Sullivan's Expedition. Paper Money .... 249 

XXVI. The Taking of Stony Point 261 

XXVII. Sufferings and Exploits of the Common People . . . 264 

XXVIII. Minor Engagements. Arnold and Andre .... 284 

XXIX. The Revolt of the Soldiers. The Prison Ships . . . 303 

XXX. The Struggle in the South 3*7 

XXXI. Greene's Work in the South 332 

XXXII. Stories of the War in the South 345 

XXXIII. The Beginning of the End 3 61 

XXXIV. Washington's March and Arnold's Raid .... 369 
XXXV. The Surrender of Cornwallis 377 

XXXVI. The Struggle on the Sea 3^7 

XXXVIL Peace 398 




Washington's Coach-atnd-four 




The Boston Tea-party 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

George Washington Frontispiece 

House in which the Declaration of Independence was written (Phila- 
delphia) vii 

Washington's Coach -and-four viii 

The Boston Tea-party ix 

Throwing the Tea overboard in Boston Harbour x 

FACING PAGE 

Portraits of Steuben, Pulaski, Lafayette, Kosciusko, and De Kalb . . 4 

Drafting the Declaration of Independence ...... 5 

Portraits of Vergennes, Stirling, Lee, Howe, and Gerard . . 14 

Retreat of the British from Concord 15 

Washington taking Command of the Army at Cambridge, 1775 . . ?2 

The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga ........ 33 

Death of General Montgomery ........ 50 

A View of Quebec from the Basin . . . . . . . 51 

Battle of Bunker Hill 66 

The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 67 

The Battle of Long Island 84 

The Announcement of the Declaration of Independence ... 85 

Battle of Bennington 94 

Washington crossing the Delaware -95 

Surrender of Colonel Rail at the Battle of Trenton . . . .114 

Battle of Princeton 115 

The plates in this book (all from old steel engravings) are " bound around " the text sig- 
natures, instead of being pasted in singly, since it is impossible to make a durable volume in 
the latter way. Owing to the method adopted, the pictures have had to be placed arbitrarily, 
and could not come opposite the references to them in the text. 

ix 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



FACING PAGE 

General Burgoyne addressing the Indians 1 28 

Joseph Brant — Thayendanegea 129 

Valley Forge — Washington and Lafayette 144 

The Surrender of Burgoyne's Army, at Saratoga, October 17, 1777 . 145 

The Battle of Germantown — Attack on Judge Chew's House . . 160 

Portraits of Gage, Clinton, Cornwallis, Burgoyne, and Howe . . . 161 

The Surrender of Burgoyne 180 

The Bivouac at Monmouth 181 

Moll Pitcher at the Battle of Monmouth 190 

Portraits of Luzerne, Du Portail, Rochambeau, Viomenil, and De Grasse 191 
A South View of Oswego, on Lake Ontario, in North America . .212 

The Storming of Stony Point 213 

Portraits of Wayne, Reed, Mifflin, Muhlenburg, and St. Clair . . . 226 

The Treason of Arnold 227 

Last Moments of Major Andre 236 

Portraits of Hopkins, Talbot, Jones, Dale, and Barry . . . -237 

The Battle of Harlem 260 

A Prison Ship 261 

Portraits of Marion, Pinckney, Wm. Washington, Sumter, and Pickens . 26S 

The Siege of Charleston 269 

General Francis Marion 292 

Battle of Guilford Court House 293 

Portraits of Davie, Rawdon, H. Lee, Tarleton, and Arbuthnot . . i 02 

The Battle of Eutaw Springs 303 

Mrs. Schuyler firing her Corn Fields on the Approach of the British . ^jg 

Portraits of Sullivan, Barton, Wooster, Varnum, and Humphreys . . -^j* 

Portraits of Morgan, Moultrie, Greene, Lincoln, and R. Howe . . *a 

Commodore Paul Jones capturing the Serapis ..... ., . j 

Entrance of the American Army into New York, November 25, 1783 . ^rg 

Washington resigning his Commission, at Annapolis, December 23, 1783 ,;_ 
Portraits of Gov. G. Clinton, Gates, Schuyler, Montgomery, and Gen. 

J. Clinton ........... -^64 




Throwing the Tea overboard in Boston Harbour 



YOUNG PEOPLE'S HISTORY 
OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

CHAPTER I 

THE PEOPLE IN AMERICA 

Why did the colonies in America rebel against England ? 
What was the cause of the struggle which has now become 
famous ? What was it that led to the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence and made the men on this side of the great 
ocean fight so desperately for almost a decade against the 
nation to which they were joined by ties of blood and the 
traditions of many generations ? 

The answer is to be found in the very facts which, 
when we first think of them, seem to have been the strong- 
est of reasons for holding the two nations together. It 
was just because the people in America were so like those 
in England that they could not agree. There was the 
same sturdy feeling of independence in both. There was 
the same unwillingness to be ruled by others, and the 
same determination to hold to what they believed to be 
their rights in America that was to be found in England 
herself. 

The earliest stories of old England are of the wars of 
the natives to prevent the Romans from ruling them. The 
Picts and Scots seemed never able to learn just how to 
give up, no matter how severely they might be beaten by 



2 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

the men who tried to conquer them. The hardy Saxons 
never tired of fighting back the Danes and the huge 
Norsemen who were constantly landing on their shores, 
and even when King William won his victory over Harold 
in the battle of Hastings, the only way by which he was 
able to make the conquered people stay conquered was to 
remain in England himself. 

This same spirit was just as strong among the people 
who afterwards crossed the sea and came to the shores of 
America as it had been on English soil. The men in the 
New World loved the mother country. They never tired 
of telling their children of the glories and beauties of the 
home from which they had come. Her heroes were their 
heroes, and her rulers were also theirs. In the very tell- 
ing, however, they unconsciously appealed to the natures 
which, though perhaps asleep, were nevertheless alive, and 
had made England great, and were certain to produce 
results just as great wherever the sons of England went. 

We are usually told that the unjust taxation which a few 
of the foolish rulers of England imposed upon the colo- 
nies was the cause of the outbreak. The Stamp Act and 
the tax on tea are said to have been the laws against 
which the determined people in America rebelled and at 
last brought to pass the separation which made of the 
struggling colonies a free and independent nation. These 
laws were unjust, it is true, but were they, after all, the 
real cause of the American Revolution ? 

When a man throws a lighted match into a powder 
magazine, we are accustomed to say that the match was 
the cause of the explosion that followed. Was the true 
cause in the match or in the powder ? The same man 
might throw a hundred matches into a pile of rocks, but 



THE PEOPLE IN AMERICA 3 

no serious results would follow from his actions. There is 
nothing in a rock that can explode. So there are peoples 
who can be taxed and ruled, sometimes very unjustly, but 
they never rebel. It may be that even England herself 
has treated some of her dependent subjects at times much 
more harshly than ever she did America, but no trouble, 
or at least no serious trouble, arose. But in the American 
colonies there was much of the same feeling that has made 
the mother country herself so bold and independent. 
There was the same strong will and dauntless courage and 
love of having their own way, because they had no doubt 
that their way must be the best, that they had received 
from their own fathers and mothers. They were simply a 
people who could not be ruled, but if there was ruling to 
be done, they preferred to do it themselves. 

It is said that there could not be two Caesars in Rome. 
No more could there be two rulers for people of the 
Anglo-Saxon race. And so, just as when a boy is ill 
with the measles and the eruption on his skin appears, we 
know that the red blotches come on the surface only 
because of the disease that is already in his system; so we 
also know that it was not the matter of a few apparently 
insignificant laws that caused the strong-willed Americans 
to rebel. The rebellion, or independence, or whatever we 
choose to term it, was already in the very nature of the 
settlers, and the unjust taxation was only the cause of its 
asserting itself. They were bom to be free, to be an inde- 
pendent and not a dependent nation. 

It is true there were settlers in America from other 
nations than England. The Dutch, the Swedes, and the 
French and Spanish, and other peoples had their settle- 
ments here ; but though they were by no means fond of 



4 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

obeying other laws than those they had made for them* 
selves, still the English was the prevailing nation, and 
English blood was that which coursed in the veins of 
the most of the seaboard colonists. 

Then, too, the success which had attended the efforts of 
the colonists had only served to increase their feeling of 
confidence in their own power. They had driven out or 
overcome the savages (not always by the best or most just 
of means), and had felled the trees and cleared the land, 
and they could not forget that it was by the labour of their 
own hands that all this had been done. 

In 1760 they had sent more than five millions of dollars' 
worth of produce to England alone ; and their trade with 
other nations, although this was forbidden by Parliament, 
was by no means small. In 1639, m Cambridge, the first 
printing-press had been set up, and newspapers and books 
were soon common. Six colleges had been founded, and 
were already doing much in connection with the numer- 
ous schools to enlighten the people. Harvard had been 
founded in Massachusetts in 1638 ; William and Mary in 
Virginia in 1692; Yale in Connecticut in 1700; the Col- 
lege of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1746; the University 
of Pennsylvania in 1749; and King's (Columbia) in New 
York in 1754. The preachers were men of unusual power, 
and all together the people in the new land were already 
profiting by their success in trade, the benefits of their 
schools, colleges, and churches, and the circulation of their 
newspapers and books. 

The motives, too, with which many of the settlers had 
come to America had intensified their own feeling of inde- 
pendence. Some had left the Old World because of the 
persecution they had suffered for their religion ; and there 



THE PEOPLE IN AMERICA 5 

is no one thing that makes people bolder than a strong 
religious faith. Others had come to seek possessions that 
should restore their families to wealth and position. The 
very difficulties which had been overcome had served to 
strengthen the feeling of self-reliance and to make the 
victories they had won the sweeter, for hardships are sure 
incentives to enthusiasm. The sight of a burning build- 
ing, the peril of a stricken army, the sufferings and dan- 
gers of a contest, are after all the appeals to which men 
most readily respond. So the meeting of dangers, the 
overcoming of difficulties, and the conquest of a new land 
had developed the qualities of heart and soul in the hardy 
colonists until the people were almost as rugged as the 
rugged country they had subdued. 

In justice to both sides engaged in the struggle, it must 
be said that some of the claims put forth by the English 
were not without a foundation of truth. They had pro- 
vided a large navy to protect the trade of the colonies, 
though they had demanded that all the trade should come 
to them. It was their daring explorers and their capital 
that had opened up the lands in the New World. English 
soldiers had been sent for the protection of the settlers, 
and the mother country had ever been quick to respond to 
the calls for help that came across the sea. Particularly 
did they make much of the part the regulars had taken in 
holding back or driving back the Frenchmen who had 
been plotting to gain the recently settled lands for Louis of 
France. It was only just that the colonies themselves 
should bear the burden of the taxation which must in part 
pay the expenses of the French and Indian War, waged, 
as they claimed, in behalf of the colonists themselves. 

Such demands the Americans did not dispute, though 



6 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Franklin declared that, in the French war, the colonists 
had " raised, paid, and clothed nearly twenty-five thousand 
men — a number equal to those sent from Great Britain, 
and far beyond their proportion. They went deeply into 
debt in doing, this ; and all their estates and taxes are 
mortgaged for many years to come in discharging that 
debt." Parliament had on several occasions acknow- 
ledged the truth of this claim of Franklin, and had even 
voted sums of money to be paid the needy colonists for 
their labours and privations, but the necessity of raising 
more money for themselves had made the rulers forget 
largely the justice of the plea. Money must be had, and 
money they would have, too, and the colonies must raise 
what they were pleased to call their share. 

So the taxation came about which revealed even to the 
colonists the strength and determination which were theirs. 
The Englishmen were thinking mostly of how the money 
was to be raised and the Americans be compelled to pay 
it. They had never a thought of serious rebellion ; for 
though the colonists might complain and there might even 
be some sharp words spoken, and perhaps more or less 
trouble in the beginning, in the end the taxes would be 
paid, and such a thought as that the Americans would 
really rebel never seemed to have entered the minds of 
the obstinate men who were the advisers of King George. 

On the other hand, it was the principle at stake, and 
not the money which they were called upon to pay, that 
roused the American men. When England asked them to 
pay or requested their aid, they were prompt to respond, 
for the love of the land from which they or their fathers 
had come was strong. But when England declared it to 
be her " right " to tax and govern the colonies as she chose. 




DRAFTING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

The Committee: Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Livingstone, and 
Sherman 



(From a painting by Chappel) 



THE PEOPLE IN AMERICA 7 

then every sentiment of antagonism was instantly aroused. 
What might be given gladly would not be yielded when it 
was demanded as a right. There should not be " taxation 
without representation." 

It was in this wise that the beginning of the long struggle 
,came about. Probably few, if any, on either side had any 
conception of what the end was to be, and indeed many of 
those who were the boldest in resisting the payment of the 
taxes were very pronounced in their declaration of love and 
loyalty to England. But the spirit of the people when 
once aroused carried them far on their way ; and though 
several times during the long contest that followed, the 
rulers of England promised to grant the requests of the 
colonists and so put an end to the war, how little the taxes 
had really had to do with it all became apparent when such 
offers were declined and the struggle continued. Indepen- 
dent men were fighting to become an independent nation, 
and the strength of their characters manifested itself in 
the fierceness of the contest. 



CHAPTER II 

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE TROUBLE 

The bitter feeling in the colonies had begun when, more 
than a hundred years before the Revolution, Parliament 
had passed the first of what came to be known as the 
Navigation Acts. This was in 165 1, and by these laws 
the people in America were forbidden to trade with any 
other country than England, or to receive any ships of 
foreign nations within their harbours. 

This action of Parliament had been aimed at New Eng- 
land more than at any other settlements in the New World, 
for the people of these colonies were even at that early 
time beginning to engage in commerce. It was an easy 
matter to build a ship from the timber cut from the forests 
that abounded, and then to make a cargo of the lumber 
which remained after the vessel was completed. It was 
a common practice for the men, and even the boys, who 
dwelt in some little seaboard hamlet to work together all 
through the winter in building a schooner, and then when 
the spring came, a crew would be made up, the vessel 
would be loaded with lumber and such other articles as 
the sparsely settled region afforded, and the roughly con- 
trived boat would sail away for some port in the West 
Indies or elsewhere, the cargo would be exchanged, and 
with the new wealth on board, the schooner would sail for 
home. Very frequently the cargo on the return voyage 

8 



THE BEGINNINGS OF THE TROUBLE 9 

would consist of rum and molasses, and after it had been 
disposed of in Boston, the proceeds would be divided among 
all those who had had a share in the enterprise. Boys and 
even old women as well as men were accustomed to bring 
their small contributions, and even poultry and all sorts of 
valuables were offered, so that when the vessel started on 
its voyage it would contain a motley collection that would 
surprise the captain of a modern vessel if he could behold 
it. These ventures were frequently very profitable, and 
many a fortune had its foundations laid in the shrewd 
dealings of these thrifty people. 

This navigation act was therefore very unpopular with 
the New England people, and with the Virginians, who also 
suffered from it, and it soon became a dead letter. The 
revenue officers became careless, and it was an open secret 
that a bribe was seldom refused, so that the trade with for- 
eign countries went on just as if there had been no laws 
against it. They had also given slight heed to the laws 
against manufacturing in the colonies, so when, more than 
a hundred years after the hated laws had been passed, 
England seriously began to enforce them, the colonists, 
who had not thought very much about the matter, and had 
apparently cared less so long as they were left to them- 
selves, suddenly realized that the mother country was 
claiming the right to tax her colonies just as she chose, 
and that they themselves had really nothing to say 
about it. 

It was in 1764, when England first declared she had 
this right. Perhaps her rulers wanted to see just how the 
people would feel about it in America, for they waited 
a year before they passed the act which has since 
become famous and is now known as the Stamp Act. 



10 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

George Grenville, who was practically the head of the 
British government, had prepared the act himself, and it 
was passed by Parliament in the spring of 1765, and was 
to go into effect on the following November. News- 
papers and almanacs could not be published in America, 
no papers used in lawsuits could be had, not even a 
certificate of marriage could be given, unless these stamps, 
to be had only from the British government, were placed 
upon them. 

The declaration that the old navigation acts would 
now be enforced was bad enough, but this Stamp Act 
was worse, and made the colonists furiously angry. Then 
when Parliament decided to send British soldiers over 
here to see that the new laws were obeyed, fuel was added 
to the fire ; for in addition to their hatred of the soldiers, 
they knew that the redcoats were to be paid from the 
money received from the sale of the stamps, so that in 
reality the Americans were paying the soldiers who were 
forcing them to obey laws that they hated and declared 
to be unjust. 

Just as soon as word was received in America, it seemed 
as if the people had been waiting for that one event to 
bind them together. In every colony the men pre- 
pared to resist, though of course at this time they had no 
thought of becoming independent of England. It was the 
law and only the few foolish and obstinate rulers that they 
hated, and indeed it is well known to-day that all through 
the war of the Revolution the heart of the great English 
people was really with the struggling colonists. But 
the Americans were just as angry as if they had had no 
friends across the sea. There were mass meetings held, 
and such eloquent men as Patrick Henry of Virginia and 



THE BEGINNINGS OF THE TROUBLE II 

James Otis of Massachusetts greatly stirred the people 
by their burning words. The speakers were on fire, and 
the audiences ready to take fire, so that it is no wonder 
that flames speedily burst forth. What a pleasure it 
would be to us to-day if only we could have heard the 
words and seen the excited crowds. We have some of 
their speeches, but they are only words. All the excite- 
ment, anger, and determination of the men cannot be 
handed down. 

Just as fast as the different assemblies of the various 
colonies met, they declared that Parliament had no right 
to tax the colonies and the people here never would sub- 
mit. Organizations of men called Sons of Liberty were 
formed to help the resistance. And then, what angered 
and astonished Lord North and King George more than 
all else, just as soon as the stamps were sent over here, 
they were seized and burned by what the English called 
mobs. If they really were " mobs," they were very 
orderly ones ; for they went quietly about their work, and 
no other property suffered any damage. The stamp 
officers themselves were so frightened by the anger of 
the people that they very quickly resigned. And so it 
came to pass that when the day in November, 1765, came, 
when the Stamp Act was to go into effect, the law fell 
flat for the simple reason that there were no stamps to 
be sold and no stamp officers to sell them. 

In Virginia, Patrick Henry had introduced a series of 
resolutions in the Assembly, that declared the people of 
America were free-born men and would remain free, or 
die in the defence of their liberty. Some of the Tory 
members shouted " Treason ! " and called upon him to stop, 
but the young orator was too excited to heed them, and 



12 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

most of the men felt just as he did. In Massachusetts, 
James Otis had suggested that a circular should be sent 
to all the colonies, and that each colony should send 
delegates to a -general congress to be held in New York 
to devise and consider what further could be done to 
resist the hated act. 

All except four of the colonies at once agreed to the pro- 
posal, and sent delegates to the congress which was held in 
New York on the 7th day of October, 1765. Virginia had 
no representatives there, for her governor had succeeded 
in breaking up the Assembly, and so none could be ap- 
pointed. But Patrick Henry's resolutions had been 
printed, and scattered through the colony, and every one 
understood just how the people felt and what they were 
willing to do. Georgia, North Carolina, and New Hamp- 
shire were the other three colonies that had no one to 
represent them in New York, but their people were as 
strongly stirred as were those of the others. 

There was a British fleet off the city at the time when 
this congress met, and General Gage had a force of 
regulars there, but neither guns nor redcoats could stop 
the angry Americans. They passed resolutions and de- 
clared what they believed the rights of the colonies to be, 
and united in a petition to the king and Parliament to 
respect those rights. The language of the congress was 
very mild, much milder than that which the people were 
using; but if Lord North had only stopped to think of 
what the meeting itself was, he might have read between 
the lines and seen the danger that was threatening. 

Very naturally the action of the American people sur- 
prised England and her rulers, who had never a thought 
that the colonies would take their deeds so seriously. 



THE BEGINNINGS OF THE TROUBLE 1 3 

The friends of America, and particularly the English 
manufacturers, who had no desire to have their goods 
rejected by the buyers in America, because of the unjust 
tax, pleaded for a repeal of the hated law, and so strong 
were their protests that within a year the Stamp Act was 
repealed. Parliament still declared that it had a right to 
tax the colonies if it chose to do so, and as the Americans 
now thought they had nothing more to fear, they made no 
formal protest, although some of them, including the New 
York Assembly, still refused to provide supplies for the 
British soldiers that had been quartered upon them, and 
others were having constant quarrels with their governors 
who had been appointed by the crown. For the most 
part, however, the colonists declared themselves to be 
"loyal subjects of the king — God bless him!" 

They still continued to plead for a representation in 
Parliament, declaring that then, when they had a voice in 
making their own laws, no possible trouble could arise 
between the mother country and her children across the 
sea. Many of the prominent Englishmen were in favour 
of granting this request, and declared that it was only just 
and reasonable ; but the king was a very obstinate man, 
and said that he would never yield to such a demand, and 
would soon show his rebellious subjects in America that 
they would be brought to terms in a manner that would 
convince them that it was never wise to dispute the will 
of their divinely appointed ruler. What would have been 
the effect if the just request of the Americans had been 
granted and they had secured a representation in Parlia- 
ment we may never know, but in all probability the his- 
tory we are reading would have been of a very different 
character from that which it now is. 



14 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Matters became more quiet after the repeal of the 
Stamp Act, but only for a brief time. In 1767, Parlia- 
ment passed an act that angered the Americans even 
more than the previous law had. A tax was now to be 
placed upon the tea and some other articles which were 
exported to America ; revenue commissioners were to be 
sent to the colonies, and aided by the redcoats they were 
to punish any who refused to pay the tax ; and the New 
York Assembly was forbidden to make any more laws 
until it should provide supplies for the British regulars, as 
long before it had been ordered to do. 

The effect of this new act was immediately evident. 
The people began to understand that it was tyranny 
they were resisting. There was no more talk of sending 
representatives to Parliament, and some of the bolder men, 
like John Adams of Massachusetts, though they did not 
talk it openly, began to believe that there was no hope of 
relief so long as the colonies remained joined to the mother 
country. 

Without any formal action the most of the people 
quietly resolved that they would neither buy nor drink any 
more tea if it had to be bought of England and the de- 
tested tax upon it paid. It is true there were two parties in 
America, — the one in favour of resisting the new law being 
known as the Whigs, and those who believed the king 
could do no wrong, and that whatever he commanded must 
be right, known as the Tories. The Whigs, however, so 
greatly outnumbered the Tories, that it almost seemed 
as if the entire nation was aroused. 

For a number of years now everything seemed to be 
going from bad to worse. In North Carolina, the people 
had had so severe a quarrel with their royal governor that 



THE BEGINNINGS OF THE TROUBLE 1 5 

they had shut him up in prison and declared they could 
and would govern themselves. Another governor they 
drove out of the colony. In Boston, the British revenue 
collectors had seized John Hancock's sloop Liberty, but 
this action had made the people so angry that they chased 
the officers until they were compelled to take refuge in a 
frigate at that time anchored in Boston harbour. General 
Gage and four British regiments were then stationed in 
the town, but the people did not appear to be very greatly 
alarmed by the presence of the redcoats. There was con- 
stant quarrelling and frequent street fights, and even the 
boys joined in the fray, pelting the soldiers at times with 
their snowballs. One day, the 5th of March, 1770, the 
soldiers became so angry that they fired on the people, kill- 
ing three and wounding many others. This was known as 
the Boston Massacre, and served to increase the hatred 
and anger of all the colonists still more. 

In 1772, a number of Rhode Island men captured and 
burned the Gaspee, one of the king's boats that had been 
collecting the revenue from the ships that had entered 
Providence. In New York City, there had been fights 
between the people and the soldiers who were sent there 
for the help of the revenue officers, and, indeed, all over 
the colonies the same spirit of resistance seemed to be 
becoming bolder and bolder. 

Parliament called the people " rebels " when it learned 
of these deeds, but calling names did not appear to have 
much effect. Those who had burned the Gaspee were 
ordered to be sent to England for trial, but as it was neces- 
sary first to catch the men before they could be sent, there 
was necessarily a failure to obey the command. 

Learning that the Americans were not greatly alarmed 



1 6 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

by threats, Parliament tried a new plan. The East India 
Company, which sent most of the tea to America, was 
not becoming very rich now that the determined people 
simply refused to drink their tea, or if they did drink 
any, they were very certain that it came from Holland and 
not from England, and they added their pleas that some- 
thing might be done to bring about a better condition of 
affairs. So Parliament took off all the taxes that had 
been imposed on goods sent to America, except that on 
tea, and this they thought they had fixed all right when 
arrangements were made with the English tea merchants 
in 1773 to send cargoes of tea to America at a price that 
was threepence lower than that which had before been 
paid. The tax of threepence, or about six cents on a 
pound, still remained, but at the new price not only was it 
thought that no more tea would be bought of the Dutch- 
men, but that at this price the Americans would buy the 
English tea and pay the tax when the price was no higher 
than it had been before the tax had been placed upon it. 

It was a shrewd plan, for what the king wanted was 
mainly to get " his rebellious subjects in America " to 
acknowledge his right to tax them if he chose to do so ; 
but it failed to work. The people in New York, Philadel- 
phia, and some other places just refused to permit the tea 
ships to land their cargoes, and sent many of them straight 
back to England with the same load they had brought 
over here. 

At Boston, they tried to do the same thing, but there 
were so many of the king's soldiers there that the officers 
would not permit the tea ships to leave the harbour. This 
angered the people so much that they had what has since 
been called " The Boston Tea Party." A band of men, 



THE BEGINNINGS OF THE TROUBLE 1 7 

quietly and in perfect order, having disguised themselves 
as Indians, boarded the ships, and on December 16th, 1773, 
threw the tea, consisting of 340 chests, into the harbour. 

There was another "Tea Party" held not long after- 
ward, which was just as remarkable as the one in Boston, 
although not much was ever made of it. Perhaps there 
was no one to " write it up " as the New England men did 
of their " party." The East India Company, not being 
willing to give up the attempts to have their tea used in 
America, and having failed at Boston, sent some ships 
down the shore, thinking perhaps that Philadelphia would 
not prove to be quite so obstinate as the New England 
town had been. The vessels ran up the Cohansey Creek 
in New Jersey, where it was thought the cargo could be 
quietly and safely landed, and the tea carried into the 
towns without any disturbance having been aroused. But 
the young Jersey men were as bold as the Boston men, 
and perhaps even a little bolder, for in broad daylight, 
without even stopping to disguise themselves as Indians 
or as anything else, they seized the tea on board the 
vessels in the Cohansey Creek, and, making a pile of it, 
had a bonfire that must have delighted the hearts of the 
small boys of that day. 

Of course, the revenue officers were very angry, and as 
the young men who engaged in the deed were known (two 
of them were young preachers), they tried to have them 
indicted ; but as the sentiment of the people of the region 
was too strong to be resisted, it was found impossible to 
bring a charge against them, and as the war itself broke 
out not long afterward, the matter was dropped for greater 
things. 

The feelings of the people were daily becoming more 



1 8 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

strongly aroused. The newspapers also had no small 
share in fanning the flame, and the words they figuratively 
hurled at one another and at the people that opposed them 
were such as would seem very strange to us to-day. For 
example, in the Pennsylvania Gazette, a strong Whig 
paper, there appeared for a year the picture of a snake 
broken into ten pieces, and underneath it were the words, 
" Unite or Die." This design was copied and used by 
others of the patriotic papers, some substituting "Join or 
Die " for the motto of the Gazette, but the effect upon the 
readers was the same. 

Rivington's Royal Gazette of New York was the most 
prominent Tory paper, and one of its writers referred to 
the cut in the Pennsylvania Gazette as " a scandalous and 
saucy reflection." He, in turn, was answered by one who 
signed himself " New Jersey," and in his reply dropped 
into poetry : — 

" That New England's abused, and by sons of sedition, 
Is granted without either prayer or petition ; 
And that His • a scandalous saucy reflection ' 
That merits the soundest severest correction, 
Is readily granted. ' How came it to pass? ' 
Because she is pestered by snakes in the grass, 
Who by lying and cringing, and such like pretensions 
Get places once honour'd disgraced with pensions. 
And you, Mr. Pensioner, instead of repentance 
(If I don't mistake you), have wrote your own sentence ; 
For by such snakes as this New England's abused 
And the head of the serpents, you know, must be bruised." 

Mr. Rivington himself, the editor of the Royal Gazette, 
was a very courtly man, exceedingly genial and pompous in 
his manner, a very strong Tory, and was trusted implicitly 



THE BEGINNINGS OF THE TROUBLE 19 

by the officers of the king. One time, when he had had 
something in his paper, expressive of his supreme con- 
tempt for the rebels, the words were shown Ethan Allen, 
the bold, rough soldier who afterward captured Ticon- 
deroga. Allen was so angry when he read the abusive 
words that he declared he would " lick Rivington the first 
opportunity he had." Word of his intention was brought 
to the Tory editor, who prepared himself to receive his 
visitor. The story of that meeting is related by Mr. 
Rivington himself. 

" I was sitting, after a good dinner, alone, when I heard 
an unusual noise in the street and the huzza from the boys. 
I was in the second story, and, stepping to the window, 
saw a tall figure in tarnished regimentals, with a large 
cocked hat and an enormous sword. He came up to my 
door and stopped. I could see no more. My heart told 
me it was Ethan Allen. I was certain the hour of reckon- 
ing had come. There was no retreat. I shut down my 
window and retired behind my table and bottle of madeira. 
Mr. Staples, my clerk, came in paler than ever, and, clasp- 
ing his hands, said : ' Master, he is come. I know it. He 
entered the store and asked if James Rivington lived here. 
I answered, " Yes." " Is he at home ? " he said. " I will go 
and see," I replied ; and now, master, what is to be done ? ' 
• Show him up,' I said. There was a fearful moment of 
suspense. I heard him on the stairs, his long sword 
clanking at every step. In he stalked. 

" ' Is your name James Rivington ? ' he demanded. 

" ' It is, sir, and no man could be more happy than I to 
see Colonel Ethan Allen.' 

" ' Sir, I have come — ' 

" ' Not another word, my dear Colonel, until you have 
taken your seat and a glass of old madeira.' 



20 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

" ' But, sir, I don't think it proper — ' 

" ' Not another word, Colonel. Taste this wine ; I have 
had it in glass for ten years.' He took the glass, swal- 
lowed the wine, smacked his lips, and shook his head 
approvingly. 

" ' Sir, I come — ' 

" ' Not another word until you have taken another glass, 
and then, my dear Colonel, we will talk of old affairs, and 
I have some droll events to detail.' 

" In short, we parted as good friends as if we never had 
cause to be otherwise." 

So Ethan Allen, the captor of forts, was himself taken, 
but the incident shows the feelings of tshe people, and, per- 
haps, the power of the press at the time. Certainly it 
shows the power of James Rivington, the editor of the 
most prominent Tory paper. 

Not only the newspapers, but also the pulpits, were now 
doing their part to stir up the people, who apparently did 
not require very much arousing. The lawyers, orators, 
and writers were becoming bolder every day. The strain 
could not be endured much longer, and at last the tie that 
had bound the two countries together was snapped. Blood 
was shed, though the first battle was not fought at Con- 
cord and Lexington, as we have sometimes been told. It 
took place far from New England soil, and the determined 
men who entered the action were aroused not only by the 
Stamp Act and the tax on tea, but by the four acts which 
Parliament, now angry and acting as foolishly as most 
angry people do, soon passed. "The Four Intolerable 
Acts," as they were called, became the last that the Eng- 
lish king inflicted upon the colonies ; for though he did 
have other acts passed afterward, they had no effect upon 



THE BEGINNINGS OF THE TROUBLE 21 

America, which had virtually though not openly cast off 
the ties that bound it to old England, and before the fight- 
ing patriots themselves were fully aware of what they 
were doing, they had become an independent nation, 
though as yet they could not be said to be a free people. 



CHAPTER III 

THE FIRST BLOODSHED 

It was in North Carolina, May 16th, 1 771, when the first 
real battle between the colonists and the forces of the 
king took place. During the troubles with the French, 
the people of North Carolina had been very true to their 
own rulers, and not only had they furnished many men 
for the war, but at times had voted large sums of money 
for the soldiers. Their loyalty, however, had apparently 
not been appreciated, and long before the passage of the 
Stamp Act they had been becoming angry and rest- 
less. The men in the North were in reality contend- 
ing more for the principle than they were from any per- 
sonal suffering they had been compelled to undergo. But 
in North Carolina the people were suffering greatly from 
the personal injustice and oppression of the officers of the 
king. The judges were corrupt. The public officers did 
not seem to care for anything except obtaining by every 
means in their power the largest sums of money possible 
from the people, who for the most part were poor, and 
all together there was scarcely a man in the colony who 
had not suffered from the rapacity of those who were in 
control. 

When the Stamp Act itself had been enacted, the North 
Carolina men had been as bitter in their opposition to it as 
had their Northern friends. To make matters still worse, 
Tryon, who afterward became the loyalist governor of New 

2 a. 




M W w wHl WBlBT" 1 " 3 ^ 



THE FIRST BLOODSHED 23 

York, was, in 1765, made governor of North Carolina, 
and a more vain, arrogant, and unjust man probably never 
had been known before in the New World. Colonel Ashe, 
who, at the time, was the energetic speaker of the lower 
house of the North Carolina Assembly, and well knew the 
feeling of the people, informed Governor Tryon that the 
Stamp Act would be resisted to the very last, and 
furthermore, that it ought to be resisted, too. The gov- 
ernor dismissed the Assembly ; but when in January, 1766, 
the sloop of war Diligence sailed up the Cape Fear River 
with its stamps on board, Colonel Ashe himself was one 
of the men who marched at the head of the local militia 
to Brunswick, where the sloop had come to anchor, and 
boldly declared that the stamps must not be landed. 

Tryon meanwhile had directed the men who had been 
appointed to distribute the stamps to go to the Diligence 
and apply for them. As soon as they learned that the 
officials were coming, the resolute militia-men left a part 
of their force to guard and watch the sloop, and the others, 
taking with them one of the boats that belonged to the 
Diligence, started for Wilmington. They put a flag in 
the boat, then placed the boat on a cart, and with the 
mayor and many of the prominent men of the town in 
the procession, to say nothing of the small boys, marched 
through the streets with Colonel Ashe still at their head. 
They marched straight for the governor's house and then 
began to shout and call for James Houston, who was 
the stamp master, to appear. Very naturally he did not 
long delay, and as soon as he came out of the house, the 
crowd hurried him to the public market place, where the 
frightened man declared, taking a solemn oath, that he 
never again would have anything to do with stamps. 



24 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

The old records inform us that he took the oath " vol- 
untarily," but the crowd of excited men were not perhaps 
just the best judges of that. At all events, they were 
apparently satisfied, and after giving three cheers after the 
manner in which all true Americans have ever expressed 
themselves when all their words have been used up, they 
led the frightened man back to the house of the governor, 
and then dispersed, doubtless feeling very well satisfied 
with what they had accomplished. 

Governor Tryon was frightened when he found out 
what the people had done, and as he was a man who 
wanted to be popular in spite of his cruelty and tyranny, 
he thought he would make every one good-natured again 
if he gave a great barbecue. He had an ox roasted for the 
occasion and barrels of beer provided ; but the very first 
thing the men did when they came was to throw the ox 
into the river, and pour all the beer on the ground. Not 
satisfied with that, they proceeded to make fun of the gov- 
ernor, and that he could never forgive ; so he called upon 
his friends, including some of the officers of the Diligence, 
to stand by him, and there was a disturbance which almost 
might be called a riot, that lasted for seven days, during 
which one man was killed. What course events might 
have followed, of course we do not know, but the repeal of 
the hated Stamp Act served to calm the North Carolina 
people, and for a time everything seemed to be quiet. 

But the peace did not last long. The men were becom- 
ing more and more restless, and finally the Sons of Liberty, 
under the leadership of a Quaker named Herman Husband, 
who had refused to take off his hat and bow low before 
the governor when he chanced to meet him, drew up a 
written complaint which also called for a general meeting 



THE FIRST BLOODSHED 2$ 

of delegates of the people to discuss the condition of affairs 
and consider what might be done. This was considered 
only fair and reasonable, and so a meeting was held ; but 
as not so many delegates were present as was desired, 
another meeting was called. 

At this second meeting it was declared that the " Sons 
of Liberty would withstand the Lords in Parliament," for 
so ran the preamble of the resolutions, and measures were 
adopted which practically declared that the people of the 
colony could, and would if it became necessary, govern 
themselves, at least as far as the civil laws were concerned. 
That was the beginning of what was known in North Caro- 
lina as The Regulation, or The Regulators, which became 
a very strong body and had much to do with the history of 
the colony. 

How vain and foolish Governor Tryon was, was never 
better shown than by a demand he made at this time upon 
the Assembly, which for the most part was made up of men 
who were willing tools in his hands. He told the Assem- 
bly that he wanted twenty-five thousand dollars voted, with 
which to erect a palace "suitable for the residence of a 
royal governor." The money was voted, and also fifty 
thousand dollars additional, and so the royal residence was 
erected at Newbern. The angry people, who already were 
paying taxes that were very heavy, were made still more 
angry by this extravagance. They declared that Lady 
Tryon, the governor's wife, and her sister were the ones 
who had demanded the fine house that they had been 
compelled to pay for ; and the anger became still greater. 

Lady Tryon, who must have been a very fascinating 
woman, if half the stories told of her are true, tried to 
make peace with the people by giving grand balls and 



26 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

many great dinners in the palace. Some of the people of 
course accepted the invitations to be present on these occa- 
sions, but the very luxury they witnessed usually made 
them forget what a good dinner they had had, and so 
they went away feeling more angry still. 

The Regulators now began to make themselves felt, and 
they assembled in such force that the governor was alarmed 
and sent word to them that if they would disperse he 
would call a meeting to talk over the troubles of which 
they complained ; and as the people had not yet lost all 
confidence in him, they consented very readily. It was not 
long, however, before they learned of their mistake ; for 
Governor Tryon sent a force of thirty horsemen to arrest 
Herman Husband and William Hunter, the leaders of the 
Regulators, and before the surprised people were fairly 
aware of what was being done, they learned that these 
two men had been cast into jail. This action roused 
all the men of the region, and under the leadership of 
Ninian Bell Hamilton, a sturdy old Scotchman seventy 
years old, they marched to Hillsborough to free the two 
men who had been confined in the prison there. 

The governor's men, when they learned of the coming of 
the Regulators, were frightened, not knowing just what the 
determined men would do. However, they very quickly 
decided to set the two prisoners free, and then just as the 
angry people came to the bank of the stream on which the 
town was located, the leaders of the governor's men came 
to the opposite side. There taking his stand, the leader, 
who was a man by the name of Fanning, and very much 
hated by the North Carolina people for his injustice and 
cruelty, held up a bottle of rum in one hand and a bottle 
of wine in the other, and called out to Hamilton not to 



THE FIRST BLOODSHED 2J 

come any nearer, but to send a horse for him to use in 
crossing the river, as he wanted to treat him and have a 
friendly talk. 

The sturdy old Scotchman was not to be cajoled by any 
such foolishness as that, and it would seem as if Fanning 
might have learned that the " treats " given by Governor 
Tryon and his wife had had the effect only of still further 
increasing the rage of the determined people. At all 
events, Hamilton not only refused the proffered refresh- 
ments, but declined as well to send over a horse for the 
official to use, and shouted, " Ye're nane too gude to wade, 
and wade ye shall if ye come over ! " 

So the governor's men waded across the stream, which 
was not very deep, but at first their bottles and words were 
alike rejected. Finally, when others too had crossed the 
river, after a promise had been given that if the Regula- 
tors would disperse, every grievance of which the patriots 
had complained should be redressed, the assembly yielded 
and dispersed. 

Within a day or two a petition was drawn up in which 
the matters of which they complained were set forth ; but 
to the surprise of the Regulators, the angry governor re- 
fused to pay any attention to it, and told the colonists that 
they ought to be content with the privilege they had of 
paying taxes. It is true that he tried to flatter and cajole 
the people, but when he sent his officials to collect the 
taxes, those servants of the governor were very glad to 
get away without having any of their bones broken, to say 
nothing of not having been able to collect any of the 
money said to be due for taxes. Then the governor held 
court, declaring that justice should be measured out to all 
— to his own officials if they had done wrong, as well as 



28 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

to others. He had marched through the country at the 
head of the troops he had collected, but the people were 
not very badly frightened and were also not very back- 
ward in showing how much they detested Tryon and his 
menials. 

At last the court was held. How deeply interested the 
North Carolina colonists were is apparent from the fact that 
more than three thousand people assembled near the court- 
house at the time of the trial, though they were so quiet 
that Tryon ought to have perceived that it was like the 
lull before the storm. At the trial, the Quaker, Herman 
Husband, the leader of the Regulators, was acquitted, and 
Fanning, the governor's right-hand man, was fined one 
penny on each of the seven charges of extortion brought 
against him. Indeed, the governor promised to pardon all 
the Regulators except thirteen, for even then it seemed as 
if there was something magical in that number. Some of 
the English writers delighted to make fun of the Ameri- 
cans for cherishing the number thirteen as they did, and 
one writer in particular afterward declared that General 
Philip Schuyler was bald on the top of his head except for 
thirteen hairs which his good wife, Mistress Catherine 
Schuyler, carefully preserved and braided into a queue 
every morning. We can afford to let them laugh to-day, 
for the thirteen colonies have shown that instead of there 
being anything to fear in the number thirteen, as some 
people have superstitiously believed, perhaps it is the best 
of all numbers. 

Governor Tryon, however, had no thought of magic or 
superstition when he left only thirteen of all the Regula- 
tors to suffer for daring to rebel against his authority, for 
he was hoping that his clemency would be appreciated and 



THE FIRST BLOODSHED 29 

order would be restored in the colony. But order was not 
restored, though there were few organized outbreaks. The 
people steadily refused to pay the unjust taxes, and drove 
away the collectors and even beat some of the ^more bitter 
Tories. Indeed, it must be said in all fairness that the 
Regulators committed many acts of which doubtless their 
leaders were afterward heartily ashamed. This was due 
not to the desires or plans of the leaders, but to the fact 
that in every movement of the kind there are always some 
men drawn into the excitement from no other motives than 
a desire to make trouble and, perhaps, a hope of gaining 
something for themselves in a time when laws are being 
broken and property is changing owners. 

At one time the Regulators assembled in force and 
declared they were marching to set Herman Husband 
free, for they had heard that he had been cast into jail 
again. The governor hastily put his palace in a condition 
to withstand an attack, for he believed the angry men 
would now lay hands upon him, and the frightened assem- 
bly voted him two thousand dollars to expend in raising 
troops; but the Regulators disbanded without doing any 
damage, and so peace was apparently once more restored. 

But it was only apparently, for as soon as Tryon 
understood that he was not really to be attacked, he at 
once issued a proclamation forbidding any one to sell 
powder or shot until he should give permission. This was 
the most foolish thing he could have done, for it only made 
the Regulators furiously angry. So angry were they that 
Tryon felt that now he must do something more to assert 
his authority and restore quiet in the regions where he 
had heard the Regulators were making a deal of trouble ; 
and at last, with some artillery and baggage wagons and 



30 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

three hundred trusty militiamen, the governor set forth 
from Newbern in the spring of 1771. His little army re- 
ceived reinforcements from the Tories on the march, and 
his friend General Waddel was ordered to collect more men 
and join the governor's forces. While the governor was 
waiting for some powder to be sent him, some of the Reg- 
ulators blackened their faces and fell upon the men who 
were carrying the powder to the governor, and after their 
attack there was no powder to be sent on. 

They fixed a trap for General Waddel, too ; for they 
sent him a message while he was marching, that it would 
be better for all concerned if he would turn back in his 
tracks. A good many of his men did so, but the general 
and a few of his men managed to get away and at last 
joined the governor's army. 

As soon as Tryon heard of what had happened to his 
friend, he started with his force toward the Allamance, 
where he understood the Regulators had assembled and 
were waiting to meet him. On the 15th of May, 1771, 
the Regulators sent word to him suggesting that matters 
might still be adjusted, and demanded an answer within 
four hours. Governor Tryon promised to send one at 
noon on the day following. 

As we know, the governor was a very vain and stubborn 
man. He utterly failed to understand the people of the 
colony, but at this time he was made very angry by hear- 
ing that Colonel Ashe, who had at one time opposed him, 
but was now on his side, and several others whom he had 
sent out as scouts, had been taken by the Regulators and 
severely whipped. Not even the leaders of the patriots 
approved of this act, and the only excuse that can be given 
is that the Regulators were very angry that one who had 



THE FIRST BLOODSHED 3 1 

been their champion should now have joined the side 
against which they were contending, and that is really no 
excuse at all. 

Without waiting for the hour to come when he had 
promised to give the Regulators a reply to their demands, 
Try on and his little army crossed the Allamance before 
it was fairly light on the following morning, and marched 
swiftly and silently toward the camp of the Regulators 
until he was distant from it about a half mile, and then he 
formed his line for battle. Aware that the militia were 
upon them, and still being very desirous of avoiding 
bloodshed, some of the Regulators advanced to Tryon's 
lines and begged that the pleas of the patriots might yet 
be considered and that no fight should be permitted. 

Tryon was too angry to be reasonable, and sharply 
declared that he would now receive nothing but an un- 
conditional surrender. Indeed, he went still further, and 
held as prisoners some of the men who had come to him 
for the conference. One of these was so indignant at 
such treatment that he told Governor Tryon to his face 
just what he thought of him, which was certainly a very 
foolish thing to do, no matter how just his anger may have 
been ; for it is usually better to suffer wrong than do 
wrong, and never yet has one wrong made. another wrong 
right. 

Truth was the very thing that the vain governor least 
loved, and so enraged was he by the outspoken words, 
that he seized his gun and before any one realized what 
he was about to do, he had shot the prisoner, who fell 
dead at his feet. 

Probably Tryon would have given much to recall the 
act as soon as it was done, but that was impossible. The 



32 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Regulators had seen the murder, and now they were 
almost beside themselves with rage. When the governor 
sent a flag of truce to them, they fired upon the men who 
bore it. In vain did their leaders beg of them to disperse. 
They were like madmen in their rage, and the worst of it 
was that they had too much justice on their side to make 
them willing to listen even to counsels that afterward 
they knew to be wise. 

Tryon's rage had instantly returned when he beheld his 
men shot down. With a voice choked with passion he 
turned to his soldiers and shouted, " Fire ! " 

The militiamen hesitated. The men before them were 
friends and neighbours. Some of their own blood relatives 
were in the ranks. It might be all well enough to differ 
in opinion, and even to go to law over their quarrels, but 
not yet were they ready to shoot down their own friends 
and kindred. 

Doubly furious when he perceived that his command 
was not obeyed, Tryon rose in his stirrups and glanced 
back at his men. Just then a loud derisive laugh came 
from the Regulators, and a shout daring him to fire upon 
them was heard. 

This was more than the vainglorious governor could 
endure. Shouting to his followers, he said, " Fire ! Fire 
on them or on me ! " 

A volley immediately was poured into the ranks of the 
Regulators, and the cannon were brought into the action. 
The sturdy patriots returned the fire, and evidently Tryon 
was their target, for his hat was carried from his head by 
a ball. 

Perhaps sobered by his own peril, he once more sent 
forward a man with a flag of truce, but the Regulators 



THE FIRST BLOODSHED 33 

were in no mood to listen, and the bearer of the flag was 
shot. There was a forward rush of the patriots, and they 
even seized some of the cannon ; but as no one knew how 
to fire them, they were useless on their hands. 

The fight was now begun in earnest. The Regulators 
were fighting, every man for himself, for Herman Hus- 
band, who, up to this time, had been their leader, now 
declared that his Quaker principles would not permit him 
to enter a battle. Men fell dead or wounded upon 
every side. There were cries and cheers, and, for a time, 
the patriots held their places behind a ledge of rocks to 
which they had retreated. At last they were driven from 
this shelter, and the battle was ended. The Regulators 
had had nine of their number killed, and the militia had 
lost twenty-seven, and large numbers on each side were 
wounded. 

After the engagement Tryon became more savage and 
brutal than ever. His cruelty found free play as he con- 
fiscated property, burned houses, destroyed crops, and 
offered rewards for the bodies of the Regulators " dead or 
alive." 

What the end would have been we cannot say, but 
Tryon was just then sent away to be governor of New 
York, and Josiah Martin, his successor, was a man of 
peace, and soon quiet was restored in the colony. 

But the first real battle of the Revolution was that 
fought between the forces of Governor Tryon and the 
Regulators, near the Allamance in North Carolina, on the 
16th of May, 1771. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE RESORT TO ARMS 

Although the events recorded in the preceding chap- 
ter occurred at a time earlier than some we have already 
described, they form a link in the chain that ought not 
to be forgotten, in spite of the fact that they have been 
ignored for the most part by those who have written of 
the Revolution. North and south, east and west, the 
entire people were becoming more enraged with every 
passing month. 

In 1774, the "four intolerable acts of Parliament," to 
which reference has already been made, were passed ; 
and the effect of them was to make even those who had 
been hopeful of a peaceful issue, almost despond. Par- 
liament, which was unaware of the true state of the feel- 
ing in the colonies, and was ready to do what the king 
and his foolish advisers wished, now became angry too ; 
and angry men are fit neither to make laws nor to obey 
them when they are made. 

So it happened that the " four intolerable acts " were 
passed. The first of these was known as the Boston Port 
Bill, and forbade all vessels either to enter or leave Boston 
harbour. It was confidently expected by the British that 
this new law would so trouble the New England people, 
whose commerce, as we know, had all the time been 
steadily increasing, that they would be brought to their 

34 



THE RESORT TO ARMS 35 

senses, and when their pockets were affected, they would 
give up their foolish rebellion. Its effect, however, was 
directly opposite, as it only made the New Englanders 
still more angry at their rulers. 

The second act was the Massachusetts Bill, which 
changed the charter of that colony, taking from the peo- 
ple the right to select their own rulers, and bestowing it 
upon the agents of King George. The effect of this 
was to anger all the other colonies as well as Massachu- 
setts, for now no one knew when the same method might 
be applied to every one. 

The third act was the Transportation Bill, which 
ordered that any American who should "commit murder" 
in resisting the officers in enforcing the laws of " the 
gracious king," should not be entitled to a trial in his 
home, but should be sent across the ocean, and should 
be tried in England. As every one thought he knew 
just what the result of such a trial would be, very natu- 
rally the act increased the bitter feeling of every inde- 
pendent man in the colonies. 

The fourth act was the Quebec Bill, which was to make 
of all the country east of the Mississippi and north of the 
Ohio a part of Canada. This act did more than any or all 
of the others to unite the colonies in the struggle. They 
had helped to win this very territory from King Louis of 
France. They had furnished men and means for this war, 
and more than all, the king himself had given the land to 
them, and they did not like this taking back a gift once 
bestowed, which among the colonists was known as " Indian 
giving." 

The excitement of the people now rose to the highest 
pitch it had as yet attained. So outspoken were many of 



36 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

the assemblies of the colonies that the royal governors dis- 
missed them, fearful of what the effect of their bold words 
might be. But such acts could not quiet the people. By 
many, the day when the port of Boston was closed was 
observed as a day of fasting and prayer. Everywhere 
men were talking of the tyranny of their rulers, and finally, 
almost as by common consent, a Continental Congress was 
called to consider what could be done to help the suffering 
Americans. 

So it came to pass that the First Continental Congress 
assembled at Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. Every 
colony except Georgia had delegates in the body, and the 
people of Georgia were thoroughly in sympathy with the 
act. Her royal governor, however, had succeeded in pre- 
venting the appointment of delegates, and so Georgia was 
the only colony without representation. 

It was a marvellous gathering of men that met in Phila- 
delphia in that First Continental Congress. Even the 
leaders of Parliament acknowledged that much, and some 
of them declared that the debates and papers were superb. 
Peyton Randolph of Virginia was chosen president of the 
body, and such men as John Adams, Samuel Adams, 
George Washington, Lee, Dickinson, and a host of others, 
whose names are worthy of remembrance, were also there. 

For four weeks the congress deliberated and debated 
with a dignity and seriousness that were worthy of the 
assembly, and, at last, as a result of it all, a new " declaration 
of rights " was made, and it was declared that the colonies 
ought to be permitted to govern and to tax themselves. 
It commended the people of Massachusetts for the stand 
they had taken, and sent Paul Revere to Salem as the 
bearer of their message. It drew up an agreement which 



THE RESORT TO ARMS 37 

was called the Articles of Association, whereby the people 
pledged themselves neither to buy nor to sell goods to 
England until Parliament should revoke the acts to which 
attention was called, whereby the rights of the colonies 
were taken away. Now the cry was changed from " No 
taxation without representation " to " No legislation with- 
out representation " ; and then last of all, after calling for 
a new session of Congress in the May following, the assem- 
bly adjourned until that time. 

Benjamin Franklin was sent to England to present the 
plan of Congress to Parliament, but he was refused per- 
mission to speak there, and soon sailed for home without 
accomplishing anything. Instead of listening to the 
appeals, Parliament went still farther and forbade the 
New England fishermen from fishing near Newfoundland. 
It was also voted to increase the force of regulars at 
Boston to ten thousand men, and after blaming General 
Gage for not having done more, William Howe was chosen 
in his place as commander-in-chief of the British forces in 
America. 

Howe had boldly declared his opposition to what the 
king and Lord North were doing. Indeed, he was himself 
for peace, and all through the long war that followed, Sir 
William Howe was ever ready to bring the struggle to an 
end by granting more than his rulers had been willing to 
yield. But when he was appointed to the new position he 
could not refuse to serve, and as his brother Richard at the 
same time was appointed Admiral of the British fleet in 
America, the two brothers came across the sea. There is 
no doubt that Sir William believed that he would be able 
to bring about a settlement of the troubles, for he came, as 
Lord North smoothly said, " not only with a sword, but 



38 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

also with an olive branch." How sadly even the good- 
hearted Sir William Howe was deceived the events which 
rapidly followed, proved. 

Meanwhile in America the determination to resist was 
becoming stronger. Particularly in Massachusetts, where 
it was feared serious trouble would first break out, men 
were meeting on the village greens and drilling as sol- 
diers. There was a tension in the very speech of the 
people. Powder and arms had been collected, and it was 
understood that twenty thousand " minute-men " were ready 
to respond to a " minute's " call, and march at a " minute's " 
warning. These men were sturdy farmers and farmers' 
boys for the most part, and had become so skilful in the 
use of their muskets and rifles, that as marksmen they were 
probably much superior to the regulars in the ranks of Gen- 
eral Gage in Boston. Of course they had no uniforms, 
and when it came to military tactics the well-disciplined 
regulars laughed heartily at their awkward movements. 

Nevertheless, General Gage was in no pleasant frame of 
mind, in spite of the large number of soldiers in his com- 
mand. He had come to understand the temper and feel- 
ings of the colonists, and openly declared that he must 
have more men, if he was to deal with them successfully, 
a statement that made Lord North and others of the king's 
advisers laugh heartily. Not for one minute did they con- 
ceive of the rough farmer boys being able to stand before 
the well-dressed, well-trained, and well-equipped soldiers of 
King George III. General Gage was so worried, however, 
that he began to erect fortifications on the " neck " that 
joined Boston to the mainland ; and as the reports of the 
doings of the country people became worse, he sent out 
his spies to find out, if possible, just what was going on. 




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THE RESORT TO ARMS 39 

When, one time in the spring of 1775, he heard through 
his spies that the minute-men had collected a supply of 
military stores at Concord, a little village about twenty 
miles distant from Boston, he ordered eight hundred of 
his regulars to march to the place and destroy all the 
powder there, and with that order the war of the American 
Revolution really began. 

This force was to march very quietly and go in the 
night, so that the minute-men might not be able to learn 
of his plan until it was too late to save their stores ; but 
the friends of the colony were as watchful as the British 
general himself, and by the time the force had started, the 
people were aware of what was going on. All through 
the night men went riding through the country, stopping 
at the scattered farmhouses and rousing the inmates with 
the startling cry, " The regulars are coming." Signals 
were also displayed, bells were rung, and when, just at 
sunrise on the eventful morning of April 19, 1775, the 
British marched into Lexington, a little village on the road 
between Boston and Concord, they were surprised to dis- 
cover about sixty minute-men assembled there on the 
village green. 

Doubtless the redcoats laughed when they beheld the 
motley company. They were not very well dressed, not 
all of them were armed, and such an idea as that these 
men would really dare to stand before them never once 
entered their minds. 

The leader of the regulars, Major Pitcairn, roughly 
ordered the " rebels " to disperse. When to his surprise 
and disgust he perceived that his command was not obeyed, 
he angrily ordered his men to fire. The sound of their 
volley rang out, there were a few shots fired in response, 



40 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

and then the minute-men scattered, leaving eight of their 
companions dead upon the village green. This was the 
shot that was "heard around the world." The struggle 
which lasted 'for eight years had at last begun, though it 
did not seem at the time as if the little handful of farmers, 
who had fired and then fled before the regulars, had done 
very much, after all. But then, who does realize that any 
deed is very great at its beginning ? 

The victorious British, leaving Lexington, marched on 
to Concord ; others of the minute-men were there, but 
they could not stand before the redcoats, and were speedily 
dispersed. Then, when the stores had been destroyed, the 
British prepared to return to Boston. 

By this time a large force of the minute-men had been 
drawn to Concord. Church bells had been ringing, mes- 
sengers had been sent in every direction, and it seemed as 
if all the people of the region came up in arms. At first 
the redcoats marched along the country road in good 
order. They had done the duty assigned them, and soon 
would be back among their comrades, and the minute-men 
had been taught a good lesson, or so they believed. 

But from behind the barns and trees, from the rocks 
along the roadside, from the very houses themselves, which 
the returning regulars passed, came the shots of the minute- 
men. They were good marksmen, and their aim was deadly. 
Man after man dropped from the ranks of the British, and 
no return fire seemed to avail against the concealed men 
who attacked them. And their numbers were increasing, 
too. The British lines were not keeping up their orderly 
march now. Every man was beginning to fear that he 
was the target of the hidden enemy, and before they had 
gone as far back on their way as Lexington, they were 



THE RESORT TO ARMS 4 1 

actually running. Just think of it, British regulars running 
from a lot of countrymen and farmers ! 

At Lexington, 900 men from Boston, with cannon, met 
the retreating redcoats, and under their protection, the 
wearied soldiers stopped for a brief rest. So completely 
worn out were they that it is said they cast themselves at 
full length upon the ground and lay there "with their 
tongues hanging out of their mouths like dogs after a 
chase." 

As soon as the regulars started again, the minute-men 
started after them, still firing from behind the sheltering 
trees and stone walls. Even down to the waterside did 
the angry countrymen follow their enemies; but as the 
ships of war were anchored there, the regulars found a 
shelter under their protecting guns, and, as the night drew 
near, the battle, if battle the struggle might be termed, 
was ended. Not more than 400 of the minute-men had 
been engaged in the fight at any one time, but so deadly 
had been their aim that in killed, wounded, and missing 
the British loss had amounted to 273. The loss of the 
minute-men has been variously stated from 88 to 103. 

So the Revolution had fairly begun, although few real- 
ized it at the time. The soldiers of King George had used 
powder and balls to assert their rights over the rebellious 
colonists, and the colonists had replied in kind. This was 
war, and having once begun, neither side was likely to 
give up until victory should decide the issue of the contest. 



CHAPTER V 

THE CHOICE OF A COMMANDER 

It was a bold stand which the hardy Americans had 
taken. If they had been thoroughly united themselves it 
would have been different, but the New England men had 
been so eager and determined that they had not waited 
for others to join them but had gone ahead on their own 
responsibility. In all the thirteen colonies the entire popu- 
lation was only about 2,6oo,ooo, 1 and though this may seem 
like a very small number from which to draw forces to 
contend against King George, we must not forget that the 
people of Great Britain were also much fewer in number 
than they are to-day. 

As soon as the result of the battle between the minute- 
men and the regulars was known, the angry colonists 
began to start for Boston to join their bold fellow-patriots. 
Israel Putnam had been ploughing in his fields at Pomfret, 
Connecticut, when the report came to him. Instantly 
abandoning his task he left word for the militia to follow 
him, and leaping on the back of his horse he rode so 

1 In 1775 the population of the thirteen colonies was said to be as follows : 



Virginia, 


560,000 


South Carolina, 


180,000 


Massachusetts, 


360,000 


New York, 


180,000 


Pennsylvania, 


300,000 


New Jersey, 


130,000 


North Carolina, 


260,000 


New Hampshire, 


80,000 


Maryland, 


220,000 


Rhode Island, 


50,000 


Connecticut, 


200,000 


Delaware, 


40,000 






Georgia, 


30,000 



4* 



THE CHOICE OF A COMMANDER 43 

swiftly on his journey of a hundred miles that in about 
eighteen hours he arrived at Cambridge, where the 
minute-men were assembled, at the same time when John 
Stark came down from New Hampshire with the first com- 
pany of men from that colony. Benedict Arnold, who 
was then a captain, had taken sixty men from the assem- 
bly of students and people in New Haven, and soon he, 
too, was with the little patriot army. So from the farms 
and hillsides, from the villages and hamlets, the angry 
colonists came, and in a very brief time General Gage and 
his soldiers found themselves besieged in Boston by an 
army that was made up of 16,000 rude and poorly 
equipped, but very determined men. 

Apparently no one knew just what to do next. It was 
determined to hold the redcoats in the city, but what to 
expect, or what the next move was to be, there was no one 
to decide. 

On the 10th of May two events occurred which did 
much to decide the future of the colonies, and of the 
war. One of these was the capture of Fort Ticonderoga 
by Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys ; and the 
other was the assembling of the Continental Congress in 
Philadelphia. The chief problem before the congress 
was the relation of the colonies to the army, and the 
appointment of a commander-in-chief. 

In the congress were most of the sturdy men who had 
been present at the preceding session. Franklin had 
come back from his fruitless errand in England, and he 
and John and Samuel Adams were already of the opinion 
that a declaration of independence must be made. Peyton 
Randolph of Virginia, who had been the first president, 
could not attend this session, and so Thomas Jefferson was 



44 HISTORY Of THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

sent in his place. John Hancock, " King " Hancock many 
called him, because he was so arrogant and unyielding, 
was chosen president ; and it was commonly understood 
that he himself desired the appointment as commander- 
in-chief. Of his patriotism no one had any question, for 
he had already suffered the loss of much of his property, 
and he was so hated by the Tories that he had been " pro- 
scribed " ; but his fellows did not seem to care very much 
for that, for they elected him president in spite of the 
threats of the king's men ; but he was not to be the 
commander of the colonial forces, as we shall soon 
learn. 

The deliberations of the body continued for a month, 
for when so many men get together, there must always 
be a lot of useless talking done, though probably never 
did an assembly have less of that than this Second Con- 
tinental Congress. 

One morning in June, not long before the hour when 
the congress was to assemble, John Adams was walking 
up and down the street in front of the building in which 
the meeting was to be held. His hands were clasped 
behind his back, and his head was bowed so that it was 
evident he was seriously troubled. 

His meditations were interrupted by the approach of 
his cousin Samuel Adams, who, as he hailed him, said, 
" What is the topic with you this morning ? " 

" Oh, the army, the army ! " replied John Adams. " I 
am determined to go into the hall this morning, and 
enter upon a full detail of the state of the colonies, in 
order to show an absolute need of taking some decided 
steps. My whole aim shall be to induce Congress to 
appoint a day for adopting the army as the legal army 



THE CHOICE OF A COMMANDER 45 

of these United Colonies of North America, and then 
to hint at my election of a commander-in-chief." 

"Well," said Samuel Adams, " I like that, Cousin John; 
but on whom have you fixed as that commander ? " 

" I will tell you. George Washington of Virginia, a 
member of this house." 

" Oh, that will never do, never ! " replied Samuel 
Adams, in surprise. 

" It must do. It shall do, and for these reasons." 

Then John Adams proceeded to call his cousin's atten- 
tion to the exact condition of the country. For the suc- 
cess of the cause it was absolutely necessary that the 
middle and southern colonies should be heart and hand 
with the eastern. The American army was then at Cam- 
bridge, made up largely of New England men, and in 
command of General Artemas Ward, himself a New 
Englander. Already some of the men from other sec- 
tions of the country were holding back and protesting 
against the prominence the New England men were 
taking, and apparently were disposed to hold. As a 
means of keeping all together, the only course seemed 
to lie in the selection of a commander-in-chief from out- 
side the eastern colonies, thereby uniting all sections in 
one body, a body that John Adams declared would then 
be irresistible. 

Samuel Adams listened thoughtfully to his cousin's 
words, and then suggested that the devotion of the east- 
ern men to General Ward would be a serious obstacle to 
such a selection. He recounted the distinguished services 
of Artemas Ward, his scholarship (he was a graduate of 
Harvard), his success in the French and Indian War, 
and the esteem in which he was held by all who knew 



46 HISrORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

him. He alsq referred to the well-known fact that John 
Hancock desired the position for himself. 

John Hancock's claims were lightly put aside by John 
Adams, who had slight love for his colleague, as is well 
known. Then he willingly assented to all that his cousin 
had said in favour of Artemas Ward, but still clung to 
his purpose to have the Virginia colonel selected for the 
position. He referred to the remarkable services Wash- 
ington had rendered in the wars of the colony, his well- 
balanced mind and large experience for so young a 
man, which more than atoned for his lack of training 
in the schools, and to the marked confidence which the 
people of all parts of the country had in his integrity 
and manhood. 

After a further conversation Samuel Adams promised 
" to second the motion, " and both men entered the hall 
where the assembly had now convened. John Adams 
soon took the floor and in one of his most impassioned 
speeches urged the adoption of the army by the Continen- 
tal Congress. He himself was ready, he declared, " to arm 
the army, appoint a commander, vote supplies, and proceed 
to business." 

Fears and objections were raised by some of his more 
timid hearers, and then, with a warmth he could not conceal, 
John Adams again arose and said : " Gentlemen, if this 
congress will not adopt this army, before ten moons have 
set, New England will adopt it, and she will undertake the 
struggle alone ! Yes, with a strong arm and a clear con- 
science she will front the foe single-handed ! " 

His burning words swept away all opposition, the time 
for the vote was fixed, and then after a heated debate the 
army was adopted by Congress. 



THE CHOICE OF A COMMANDER 47 

The next problem was the election of a commander for 
the army, which now was no longer a " mob of rebels," but 
belonged to the United Colonies of North America; and 
naturally all looked again to John Adams to lead. And he 
was ready to lead, too. 

On the appointed day he was in the assembly, and began 
his speech. First he entered into a description of General 
Ward, and bestowed upon him such praise as must have 
satisfied even the warmest friends of the sturdy New Eng- 
land soldier. Then, drawing himself up to his full height, 
he paused for a moment before he added : " But this is not 
the man I have chosen ! " 

The scene was intensely dramatic, and the eyes of all the 
assembly were fixed upon the speaker. At his right was 
seated George Washington, clad in his uniform of a Virginia 
colonel, and he, too, was leaning forward with breathless 
interest, eager to hear the name of the man whom John 
Adams would propose. 

More quietly, then, John Adams went on to portray the 
qualifications which the new commander must have. Be- 
coming more eloquent as his speech drew to an end, he 
closed with these words : " Gentlemen, I know these qualifi- 
cations are high, but we all know they are needful at this 
crisis in this chief. Does any one say they are not to be 
obtained in this country ? In reply, I have to say they are ; 
they reside in one of our own body, and he is the man whom 
I now nominate, — George Washington of Virginia. 

The startled Washington as he heard the words leaped 
to his feet and rushed into an adjoining room. The entire 
body sat silent and astonished. In the midst of the silence, 
Samuel Adams, acting upon a promise he had previously 
given his cousin, rose, and moved for an adjournment, that 



48 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

time for consultation and deliberation might be had. The 
motion prevailed, and the assembly was dismissed. 

Doubtless there were many conferences between the 
members of Congress, the records of which have never been 
preserved ; but on the 15th of June, 1775, Thomas Johnson 
of Maryland arose and formally nominated George Wash- 
ington to be commander-in-chief of the American army, 
and he was unanimously elected to the position. 

In the presence of Congress, and in response to the 
formal declaration of his election by the president, John 
Hancock, George Washington stood and made the follow- 
ing response : " Mr. President, — Though I am truly sen- 
sible of the high honour done me in this appointment, yet, I 
feel great distress from a consciousness that my abilities and 
military experience may not be equal to the extensive and 
important trust. However, as the congress desires it, I 
will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every power 
I possess in their service, and for the support of their glori- 
ous cause. I beg they will accept my most cordial thanks 
for this distinguished testimony of their approbation. But, 
lest some unlucky event should happen unfavourable to 
my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every 
gentleman in this room, that I this day declare with the 
utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the com- 
mand I am honoured with. As to pay, sir, I beg leave to 
assure the congress that, as no pecuniary consideration 
could have tempted me to accept the arduous employment 
at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do 
not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact 
account of my expenses. Those, I doubt not, they will dis- 
charge ; and that is all I desire." 

Modest and sincere as his speech of acceptance was, 



THE CHOICE OF A COMMANDER 49 

perhaps the true feelings of Washington found expression 
in the letter he wrote his wife on the following day : "You 
may believe me, my dear Patsy [his pet name for Martha 
Washington] when I assure you in the most solemn man- 
ner, that so far from seeking the appointment, I have used 
every endeavour in my power to avoid it, not only from my 
unwillingness to part with you and the family, but from 
the consciousness of its being a trust too great for my 
capacity; and that I should enjoy more real happiness in 
one month with you at home than I have the most distant 
prospect of finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven 
times seven years." 

Profoundly moved by the modest address of the newly 
elected commander, Congress at once appointed Richard 
Henry Lee, Edward Rutledge, and John Adams a com- 
mittee to draft a commission and instructions for the new 
general ; and four days afterward the following commis- 
sion was given George Washington : — 

"To George Washington, Esq., — We, reposing special trust 
and confidence in your patriotism, valour, conduct, and fidelity, do 
by these presents constitute and appoint you commander-in-chief 
of the army of the United Colonies and of all forces now raised or 
to be raised by them, and of all others who shall voluntarily offer 
their services and join said army for the defence of American lib- 
erty and repelling every hostile invasion thereof ; and you are 
hereby vested with free power and authority to act as you shall 
think for the good and welfare of the service. And we do hereby 
strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under your 
command to be obedient to your orders, and diligent in the exer- 
cise of their several duties. And we do also enjoin and require 
you to be careful in executing the great trust reposed in you, by 
causing strict discipline and order to be observed in the army, and 
that the soldiers be duly exercised and provided with all conven- 



50 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

ient necessaries. And you are to regulate your conduct in every 
respect by the rules and discipline of war (as here given you), and 
punctually to observe and follow such orders and directions from 
time to time as you shall receive from this or a future Congress of 
these United Colonies, or committee of Congress. This commis- 
sion is to continue in force until revoked by this or a future 
Congress. 

(Signed) John Hancock, President. 

This commission was afterward preserved in a glass case 
in the capital of the nation. 

On June 21st, 1775, General Washington, as he then 
became, started from Philadelphia for the camp at Cam- 
bridge. All along the long march he was greeted enthusi- 
astically, and his reception at the camp itself on July 2d 
was the most enthusiastic of all. 

There was now an army, a commander-in-chief, a con- 
gress, and a war that was to last for many long years. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE FALL OF FORT TICONDEROGA 

On the very day when Congress had assembled in Phil- 
adelphia, just a few hours before the time of meeting, 
another event occurred away up on the shores of the 
beautiful lake that lies in what in the early times was the 
thoroughfare between Montreal and Albany and New 
York. The shores of Lake Champlain and Lake George 
had afforded some of the bloodiest of battle-grounds in 
the French and Indian War. It was by this route that 
Frontenac had sent the band of Indians and Frenchmen, 
who had planned to go to Albany but had turned aside 
and massacred the innocent people of Schenectady, at 
that time on the border of the settlements in New York. 
Some of the strangest of traditions and the most stirring 
of stories had come down from the earliest settlers of the 
brave deeds of white men and red in this region, where 
now the summer tourists go in great numbers and see 
only a beautiful lake, dotted with fairy-like islands and 
framed by towering mountains that make one of the most 
beautiful spots in America. 

It was in 1755 that the French had built a fort on the 
high bluff which looks out over the surrounding country, 
and guards the narrow passageway between the two 
lakes. To this fort they had given the Indian name 
Cheonderoga, which means the sounding waters ; but this 

Si 



52 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

name came after the close of the war to be known as 
Ticonderoga. 

Here, in the summer of 1758, the English general 
Abercrombie had been defeated by the French and 
Indians when he tried to capture the fort, and after a 
desperate struggle, in which his regulars and colonial 
forces had fought, as only the men of the Anglo-Saxon 
race can fight, he had lost almost two thousand men. 

About a year afterward, General Amherst with an 
army of eleven thousand men had determined to retake 
the fort ; and take it again he did, for he was wise enough 
not to try to storm it, but decided to lay siege to it and 
compel the garrison to surrender. Hunger will some- 
times do more than powder and ball; and after a brief 
time the discouraged Frenchmen dismantled Fort Ticon- 
deroga, and abandoning it fled to Crown Point. So 
Amherst secured for the English, without a gun having 
been fired, what Abercrombie had failed to take after a 
fearful struggle. 

Fort Ticonderoga, or " Fort Ty " as it was commonly 
known in the year 1775, was still in the hands of the 
English. Captain Delaplace, with a little garrison of 
forty-eight men, was in charge of it, and never a thought 
of fear or of trouble seemed to have entered their minds. 
I have no doubt the captain and his pretty young wife, 
who was with him in the beautiful and lonely spot, often 
bewailed the fact that they were stationed in such a 
remote post, and heartily wished that they were some- 
where else, wherein they are not entirely unlike some 
men and women who still believe that if they were in 
other places than those in which they find themselves 
they could be much happier. However, both Captain 



THE FALL OF FORT TICONDEROGA 53 

Delaplace and his beautiful wife were speedily to learn 
that even old Fort Ty was not to be without an excitement 
of its own, and the manner in which it came to pass was 
as follows : — 

When Benedict Arnold had arrived at Cambridge, where 
the hardy little army of the colony was assembled, as we 
know, he had at once suggested that he with a suitable 
force should be sent to capture Fort Ticonderoga. The 
location of the fort, its supplies, and the quantity of ammuni- 
tion stored there, and the help it would be if it was decided 
to invade Canada, were all matters to be considered. Per- 
haps Arnold was already thinking of entering Canada ; but 
whether he was or not, he was a man of such tremendous 
energy that he had to be doing something. The result of 
his pleadings was that the Massachusetts Congress gave 
to Benedict Arnold a colonel's commission, and authorized 
him to raise four hundred men in western Massachusetts 
and take command of them, and capture the old fort, if he 
thought he could do so. 

In high spirits Arnold set forth, for he had never a mis- 
giving in the matter ; but he soon learned that the plan 
had been thought of by others also. Ethan Allen, the 
leader of the " Green Mountain Boys," which was a band 
of Vermont men who had associated themselves to resist 
the demands of New York, which claimed a good part of 
Vermont as its own, had already been authorized by Con- 
necticut to undertake this very task of capturing Ticon- 
deroga. The Massachusetts Congress had supplied Arnold 
with some money, and horses, and ammunition, but as soon 
as he heard of Ethan Allen's march, he at once gave up 
trying to enlist men, and hastened forward to join the band 
that was advancing on the fort. 



54 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Benedict Arnold was a bold and very determined man, 
but so also was Ethan Allen. The latter was a soldier of 
great bravery, he had a very strong and vigorous body, 
was almost always successful in the rough wrestling 
matches and " rough and tumbles " of the camps, and his 
followers were very proud of him as well as devoted 
to him personally. Allen also prided himself upon his 
being a thinker and writer, and had even written a book 
or pamphlet. Certain it was that both these men could not 
at the same time be leaders of the expedition. 

Arnold very soon learned that Allen's men would listen 
to no other than their own doughty commander ; so, making 
a virtue of necessity, he pushed forward with the band, 
apparently content to be one of its members, if he could not 
be the commander. In the night of May 9th, the entire 
force arrived at the shore of the lake opposite Ticonderoga. 

Ethan Allen at once applied to a farmer he knew there 
for a guide ; and the farmer's own boy, Nathan Beman, 
who knew the lake, and the fort, too, for he had been in it 
many a time, became the guide. Only a few boats could 
be found, however, and these were put to good use at once ; 
but with all their efforts, when the gray of the dawn of the 
morning of May 10th appeared, only Allen, and Arnold, 
and eighty-three men had been landed. 

Ethan Allen was not easily disheartened, and so assem- 
bling his few followers he harangued them after a manner 
we can easily imagine, and then silently in three ranks they 
all started for the fort. The first sentinel they met snapped 
his fusee at the bold leader, but it missed fire, and the man 
was at once seized. The next sentinel made a thrust at 
one of the leaders with his bayonet, but Allen struck him 
on the head with his sword, and he, too, ceased to trouble 
the advancing band. 




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THE FALL OF FORT TICONDEROGA $$ 

As soon as the men had entered the fort, they gave such 
a united shout as only the men of that time knew how to 
give, and hastily formed in line in front of the barracks, 
from which the startled soldiers rushed forth, only to find 
themselves prisoners. Instantly, Ethan Allen, having 
young Nathan Beman show him the way, rushed up the 
steps to the door of the quarters of Captain Delaplace. 
Stopping before it Ethan Allen grasped his sword, and 
with the hilt of it rapped three times, and at the same time, 
in his loudest tones, summoned the captain to come forth 
and give himself up. We do not know what the captain's 
dreams had been, but only partly awake and partly dressed 
he opened the door, while from behind him could be seen 
peering the frightened face of his young wife, who was as 
alarmed as her husband was angry at the rude and startling 
summons. 

As soon as Captain Delaplace beheld Allen he at once 
recognized him, — the most of the people of that region 
were acquainted with the bold and reckless leader of the 
" Green Mountain Boys," — and angrily demanded what he 
meant by creating such a disturbance at such an unseemly 
hour. 

Ethan Allen pointed with his sword at his followers and 
said, " I order you instantly to surrender ! " 

" By what authority do you demand it ? " 

" In the name of the Great Jehovah, and the Continental 
Congress ! " thundered Ethan Allen in reply. 

Perhaps Captain Delaplace did not even know there 
was such a body as the " Continental Congress," but there 
was no mistaking the man before him, and so the fort was 
quickly given over, and the garrison with the women and 
children were sent to Hartford. 



56 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

It was in this way that for the second time Ticonderoga 
was surrendered without a gun having been fired. With 
the fall of the fort one hundred and twenty pieces of can- 
non, fifty swivels, two ten-inch mortars, one howitzer, one 
cohorn, ten tons of musket-balls, three cart-loads of flints, 
some new carriages, and a large quantity of material for 
boat-building, as well as a goodly store of provisions and 
powder, fell into the hands of the bold captors. 

In the morning, the men who had not been able to cross 
the lake in the night, joined their comrades in the fort, and 
soon after (on the 12th of May) Crown Point was also easily 
taken. 

Arnold tried to assume the command of Ticonderoga as 
soon as the fort was surrendered, but his claims were either 
laughed at or ignored. The men declared that it was Con- 
necticut, and not Massachusetts, that was paying them for 
this work, and only to the leader they had followed would 
they listen. Arnold had only a few men ; but he was de- 
termined to do something anyway, and so when, a few days 
later, a few more of his own men joined him, he started 
down Lake Champlain and captured St. John's, and its 
garrison, and also a sloop of war that was lying at anchor 
there. 

These startling events greatly elated some of the men of 
the colonies, almost staggered others, and some were evi- 
dently badly frightened by them. They declared that 
England would be very angry when she heard such news, 
and that the punishment she would visit on the colonies 
would be such as they would long remember. And indeed 
it did seem so. Great Britain was so powerful, and the 
colonies were so feeble and, worse than all, apparently 
were so far from being united, — as the clash between 



THE FALL OF FORT TICONDEROGA $7 

Benedict Arnold, appointed by Massachusetts, and Ethan 
Arnold, appointed by Connecticut, has already shown us, — 
that it did seem as if the alarm was well-grounded. How 
well-grounded it was we shall learn as we enter further 
into the story of the struggle. 

When the Congress at Philadelphia heard of what Ethan 
Allen had done, the delegates, that is, some of them, were 
greatly alarmed. This was going altogether too far, the 
timid ones declared. This was rebellion and open war, 
and that was not what they were aiming at. They wanted 
their rights, but had no thought of making war upon the 
mother country. 

At last, in spite of the words of the bolder members, 
Congress recommended to the committees at New York 
and Albany that the cannon and stores taken by Ethan 
Allen and his men should be removed to the south end of 
Lake George, and that a strong post should be erected 
there. They also advised that a careful inventory of the 
stores should be made, " in order that they might be safely 
returned when the restoration of harmony between Great 
Britain and the colonies, so earnestly desired by the latter, 
shall render it prudent and consistent with the overruling 
law of self-preservation." 

In spite of the stilted and high-flown words, some could 
not conceal their alarm, while others were as openly 
rejoiced at the turn of events. And meanwhile the 
strength of the colonies was being tested and developed 
after a manner that was as surprising to the friends as it 
was to the enemies of the " rebel " cause. 



CHAPTER VII 

BUNKER HILL 

Boston, in the year 1775, was situated on the peninsula 
covering the middle of the harbour. There were hills on 
the mainland extending about this peninsula, and on these 
hills the poorly equipped but desperate and determined 
Yankee farmers were assembled. Men were rushing to 
join their hardy comrades, and from all the neighbouring 
colonies powder and shot were being hastily carried. Some 
of the most exciting experiences of the entire war were had 
by the hardy colonists as they hastened to Cambridge with 
the ammunition, for the Tories were watchful, and doing 
their utmost to take the supplies, and cut off the men who 
were rallying to the aid of their comrades. 

The people were becoming thoroughly aroused now, and 
the bitter feelings that lasted until long after the war was 
ended were expressing themselves in a manner that did not 
always reflect credit upon the leaders. Mass-meetings 
were held, and though in many instances the men who 
addressed them were dignified, in others, it is to be feared 
that they were not always careful to see that their hearers 
were kept back from deeds of which doubtless afterwards 
they were thoroughly ashamed. 

The following clipping from the Pennsylvania Packet 
of May 15th, 1775, gives us an idea of how the angry and 
excited people conducted themselves : " The committee of 



BUNKER HILL 59 

Bucks County [Pennsylvania] met yesterday, and recom- 
mended the people to associate themselves into companies, 
and learn the military exercise of arms. The unanimity, 
prudence, spirit, and firmness which appeared in the 
deliberations of yesterday do honour to Bucks County, and 
will, we hope, in some measure wipe off those aspersions 
they too deservedly lay under. A large number of the 
inhabitants assembled, and the resolves of the day being 
made public they testified their highest approbation of the 
conduct of the committee. ... A disciple of that species 
of creatures called Tories being formally introduced to a 
tar-barrel, of which he was repeatedly pressed to smell, 
thought prudent to take leave abruptly lest a more intimate 
acquaintance with it should take place." 

It is to be feared that the " tar-barrel " was a too com- 
mon attendant at the patriotic meetings, and the only excuse 
that can be offered for its use is that the people were suffer- 
ing from excitement as well as from injustice, and did not 
always bear in mind that the measures they employed were 
not justified even by oppression. 

New Jersey appropriated the money then in the treasury 
of the colony, arguing that as the Jersey men had first given 
the money it now by right belonged to them. In South 
Carolina the committee urged people, even when they went 
to church, to carry arms. In North Carolina the warm- 
hearted Scotch-Irish patriots of Mecklenburg County 
declared that the address of Parliament and the King in the 
preceding February had " annulled and vacated all civil 
and military commissions granted by the Crown and sus- 
pended the constitutions of the colonies," and that these 
rights now belonged to the colonies themselves. This 
action of the Mecklenburg patriots has been known as the 



60 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

" Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence," and has been 
called the first act of its kind. But the matter is some- 
what hazy, and evidently was the work of a few men in 
whatever light it may be viewed, and consequently can 
hardly be dignified by the title bestowed upon it. It was 
a sample expression of the feeling, however, which now 
seemed to have seized upon the greater part of the people 
in every one of the colonies. 

General Gage and his army were practically shut in and 
besieged in Boston town, at least from the land side ; but 
on the 25th of May, Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne arrived 
there with reinforcements, and so the number of the red- 
coats was raised to about 10,000 men. There had been no 
ships to oppose the landing or the entrance of these men, 
for the Americans were practically without a navy at 
that time. 

General Gage, reassured by the coming of the new 
troops, and confident that the " rebellion " would be 
speedily crushed, at once issued a proclamation in which 
he offered pardon to all the " rebels " who would at once 
lay down their arms and promise to be true to King 
George, that is, all except John Hancock and Samuel 
Adams, who, in his eyes, were much too wicked ever to re- 
ceive pardon in this world or in the world to come. Gage 
also, and very unwisely from his point of view, threatened, 
in his proclamation, to hang every man taken with arms on 
his person. 

How angry this made the colonists, and how little effect 
his words had, may be known by the following extract from 
a " poem " that appeared in one of the strongest of the 
Whig papers of that time: — 



BUNKER HILL 6 1 

"Tom Gage's Proclamation; 

Or blustering denunciation, 

(Replete with defamation) 

Threatening devastation 

And speedy jugulation 

Of the new English nation, — 

Who shall his pious ways shun ? 

Whereas the rebels, hereabout, 
Are stubborn still and still hold out; 
Refusing yet to drink their tea, 
In spite of Parliament and me; 
And to maintain their bubble, Right, 
Prognosticate a real fight ; 
Preparing flints, and guns and ball, 
My army and the fleet to maul ; 
Mounting their guilt to such a pitch 
As to let fly at soldier's breech, 
Pretending they design'd a trick 
Tho' ordered not to hurt a chick ; 
But peaceably, without alarm, 
The men of Concord to disarm; 
Or, if resisting, to annoy, 
And every magazine destroy; — 
All which, tho' long obliged to bear, 
Thro 1 want of men, not of fear : 
I'm able now by augmentation, 
To give a proper castigation ; 
For since th' addition to the troops 
Now reinforc'd as thick as hops ; 
I can, like Jemmy at the Boyne, 
Look safely on — fight you, Burgoyne ; 
And mow like grass the rebel Yankees, 
I fancy not these doodle dances ; — 
Yet e'er 1 draw the vengeful sword, 
I have thought fit to send abroad, 
This present gracious proclamation, 
Of purpose mild the demonstration, 
That whosoe'er keeps gun or pistol 
I'll spoil the motion of his systole. 



62 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

But every one that will lay down 

His hanger bright and musket brown, 

Shall not be beat, nor bruis'd, nor bang'd, 

Much less for past offences hang'd ; 

But if on surrendering his toledo 

Go to and fro unhurt as we do ; — 

But then I must, out of this plan, lock 

Both Samuel Adams and John Hancock ; 

For these vile traitors, (like debentures) 

Must be tucked up at all adventures; 

As any proffer of a pardon 

Would only tend those rogues to harden : — 

But every other mother's son 

The instant he destroys his gun, 

(For thus doth run the king's command) 

May, if he will, come kiss my hand — 

And to prevent such wicked game, as 

Pleading the plea of ignoramus ; 

Be this my proclamation spread 

To every reader that can read : — 

And as nor right nor law was known 

Since my arrival in this town ; 

To remedy this fatal flaw 

I hereby publish martial law. 

Meanwhile, let all and every one, 

Who loves his life, forsake his gun ; 

And all the council, by mandamus, 

Who have been reckoned so infamous, 

Return unto their habitation 

Without or let or molestation. — 

Thus graciously the war I wage, 

As witnesseth my hand — Tom Gage. 

By command of Mother Cary, 

Thomas Flucker, Secretary. 

Fearful of what the effect of Gage's proclamation might 
be, it was determined by the little army that was besieging 
Boston to act before the British could do anything to carry 
out this threat. Accordingly, 1200 men were to be sent to 



BUNKER HILL 63 

occupy Bunker Hill. # This hill was one of several just 
north of Boston, and if once it was fortified it would enable 
the guns to be trained upon the fleet lying in the harbour 
below. 

How seriously the patriots entered into the work can be 
judged from the fact that on the night of June 16th, 1775, 
the 1200 men selected for the task of occupying Bunker 
Hill, before they started from the camp were paraded on 
Cambridge Common, and the president of Harvard Col- 
lege, Dr. Langdon, offered a public prayer for them all. 
Then, silently, with Colonel Prescott, who had seen much 
service in the French and Indian war, in command, they 
started for the hill. 

When they arrived there, it was decided to go on a little 
farther and use Breed's Hill instead of the one to which 
they had been sent ; for, acting upon their own responsibil- 
ity, they thought this would give them a better place from 
which to command both the town and the British fleet in 
the harbour. This change proved to be all right in the end, 
but if the redcoats had adopted a different plan from the 
one they followed it might have fared badly with the 
patriots, as they might have been cut off from their com- 
rades, and besieged until they were compelled to sur- 
render. 

It was almost midnight when the patriots at last stood 
on Breed's Hill, but with pick and shovel they at once 
began to work. Steadily and with the least possible 
noise the men toiled on. It was too late to stop now, and 
the only thing they could do was to go on. When at last 
the June morning of the 17th dawned, the enemy on the 
ships discovered what the Yankees had been doing. 
Doubtless they had heard of the wonderful lamp Aladdin 



64 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

had, and how in a single night by the aid it afforded a mag- 
nificent palace had been erected. But here right before 
their eyes was something almost as marvellous. The busy 
patriots had thrown up intrenchments within a few hours, 
and that, too, right within the hearing of the call of the 
British sentry at night. 

The startled sailors were immediately summoned to duty, 
and the roar of the great cannon roused everybody in or 
near Boston. The people in the town ran to the roofs of 
the houses, and watched the actions of the men on the 
fleet and those on the hill. But the Yankees kept right on 
with their labours, and as long as the British only made a 
noise they did not seem to care, but worked steadily on the 
intrenchments. More men and leaders had come now. 
There was Doctor Warren, the Boston physician, who had 
just been made a major-general, but who preferred to serve 
with his gun as a private. Colonel Stark also was there, 
and so was doughty Israel Putnam, and their presence 
was an inspiration to every man toiling with a spade or 
pickaxe. 

As a matter of course, General Gage was as angry as 
he was startled when he discovered what those despised 
Yankees had been doing. In the morning, while the guns 
of the fleet were thundering, and the shot fell harmless 
against the slope of Breed's Hill, he was holding a consulta- 
tion with the other leaders of the British who had recently 
arrived upon the scene of action. They were all agreed that 
it would never do to permit the Yankees to plant their guns 
on the height they were attempting to fortify, but as almost 
every one was of the opinion that the " rebels " would 
never stand before the veteran soldiers of King George, 
wiser counsels were disregarded, and it was decided to send 



BUNKER HILL 6$ 

3000 men to drive the " farmers " from the hill. And all 
through these hours the despised "farmers" were work- 
ing as busily as bees at the task to which they had set 
themselves. 

It was about noon when the redcoats were seen to be 
crossing the river in their boats. Without doubt the 
desperate men on Breed's Hill did not enjoy the sight ; but 
the brave man is not the one who never feels fear, but the 
one who goes right on with his duty in spite of his alarm. 
After the British had landed they formed in two divisions 
- — one to move upon the line of rail fence on the hillside, 
and the other toward the intrenchments. Their uniforms 
and glittering weapons must have presented a sight that 
might well have caused the poorly equipped and inexperi- 
enced farmers to tremble, but not one left his place. Grim, 
desperate, and determined they watched the oncoming 
ranks, and, with their guns in their hands, waited. The 
people on the housetops almost held their breath in their 
excitement. Steadily the scarlet-clad soldiers moved up the 
hill, and a silence almost like death itself rested over all. 
The very stillness encouraged the British, who did not 
for a moment believe the " peasants," as some termed the 
Yankee soldiers, would wait to receive the charge of the 
regulars. Nearer and nearer they came, and at last were 
within a hundred and fifty feet of the patriots, and then 
the waiting farmers, at the word of their leaders, suddenly 
poured a terrible volley into the front ranks of the red- 
coats. Men and officers fell, and for a moment it almost 
seemed as if the advancing line had been blotted out. 

The redcoats, however startled they may have been, 
were no cowards, and holding their ground, tried to return 
the fire, but in a moment the line wavered, then broke, 



66 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

and in great disorder turned and fled down the hillside. 
Then such a shout went up from the patriots as can be 
heard only when an action like that which had come to 
the desperate men occurs. They were ready to leap over 
the embankments and chase the fleeing redcoats into the 
water ; but, though it was with great difficulty, the officers 
restrained them, and the exultant minute-men remained 
behind the breastworks. 

There was a break in the fight now, and during the 
interval the fleet began to fire shells into Charlestown, 
where the few wooden houses were soon in flames, but the 
sight of the burning houses only increased the rage of the 
men on Breed's Hill. Again the British formed in line 
and the scarlet ranks advanced up the hill. This time the 
patriots waited until they had come within ninety feet of 
the trenches, then again they poured their terrible fire 
right into the ranks that were so near that they could 
almost " behold the whites of their eyes." There was a 
brief and desperate struggle, and once more the regulars 
wavered, and then broke and fled, leaving hundreds of 
their comrades dead or wounded upon the field. And 
the " farmers " had been so well protected by their em- 
bankments that they had lost only a few men. 

The delay which now followed was longer than the 
preceding one, and though the men in Cambridge were 
trying to come to the aid of their comrades, not much was 
done. The powder was almost gone, and their only hope 
seemed to be in a hand-to-hand fight. We now know that 
the British soldiers themselves were not in favour of trying 
the attack again ; but the words of the leaders prevailed, 
and for the third time the scarlet-clad soldiers started up 
the sloping sides of Breed's Hill. 



BUNKER HILL 67 

There was now hardly sufficient powder among the 
Americans to permit the soldiers to fire even one volley 
nt the approaching redcoats, but they did what was in 
their power, and did it with a will. Then the determined 
redcoats, chagrined by the former defeats and resolute as 
the Saxon always is, with their bayonets fixed, charged on 
the works. 

The Americans were just as stubborn, but they had few 
bayonets and no powder, and so they were driven slowly 
from the place they had so gallantly held, and Breed's 
Hill and Bunker too, fell into the hands of the redcoats. 
But they had not gained the victory — if victory it can be 
called — without losing 1054 of their brave men, while the 
Americans had also lost 449. 

So the Battle of Bunker Hill — for the name of the hill 
to which the patriots had first been sent was given to the 
fight — was fought and ended, and it is said that so im- 
pressed were the veterans of King George that never 
again did they willingly move upon the Americans when 
they were intrenched. It was a terrible fight, but it was 
glorious in its effect ; and the memory of Bunker Hill is 
still an inspiration to every one whose home is in these 
United States, and the story will never grow old. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIERS 

The effect of the battle of Bunker Hill was electric. 
Although General Joseph Warren had fallen just as the 
retreat was begun, not even the death of that beloved man 
could check the enthusiasm, for had not the British regu- 
lars been almost defeated ? 

General Washington had set forth from Philadelphia for 
Cambridge June 21st, and, attended on his way by a com- 
pany of light horse, had been greeted with enthusiastic 
cheers and a warm welcome all along the line of his march. 
It was four days after his departure from Philadelphia 
when he arrived at New York, and, although the new royal 
governor, Tryon, came there from England on the very 
same day, there was no doubt as to which was welcomed 
with the greater enthusiasm. News of the battle of Bunker 
Hill was there received by Washington and his men, and 
added not a little to the spirits of the friends of the colonies. 

At New York, Washington held a conference with Gen- 
eral Philip Schuyler, who was soon, as we shall learn, to 
take an active part in the struggle, and dismissing his body 
of light horse and attended by Charles Lee and his guard 
resumed his journey to Cambridge, where he arrived on the 
afternoon of July 2d. 

At nine o'clock on the following morning, after the 
troops had been drawn up on the Cambridge common, 

60 



THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIERS 69 

accompanied by several of his officers Washington walked 
from his quarters, and taking his stand in front of the 
assembled ranks, spoke a few words, drew his sword, and 
formally assumed the command of the Continental army 
amidst the greatest enthusiasm. It was a great day in the 
new commander's life and in the life of America. 

At once Washington began the hard work that was to 
continue for many weary years. He called a council of 
war, and it was decided that the first task must be to orga- 
nize the army, for up to this time the feeling of indepen- 
dence had extended even to the individual soldiers, who did 
not like to have their own liberties curtailed, and by them 
obedience was a virtue yet to be learned. Indeed, though 
it seems hard to acknowledge it, drunkenness, thieving, 
and profanity were prevalent. This does not mean that 
every soldier was guilty of these crimes, but the vices were 
common and led Washington to issue on the very day after 
he assumed the command the following general order : — 

" The Continental Congress having now taken all the 
troops of the several colonies, which have been raised, or 
may be raised hereafter for the support and defence of the 
liberties of America, into their pay and service, they are 
now the troops of the United Provinces of North 
America ; and it is hoped that all distinction of colonies 
will be laid aside, so that one and the same spirit may ani- 
mate the whole, and the only contest be, who shall render, 
on this great and trying occasion, the most essential service 
to the great and common cause in which we are all engaged. 
It is required and expected that exact discipline be observed, 
and due subordination prevail through the whole army, as 
a failure in these most essential points must necessarily 
produce extreme hazard, disorder, and confusion, and end 



70 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

in shameful disappointment and disgrace. The general 
most earnestly requires and expects a due observance of 
these articles of war, established for the government of the 
army, which forbid profane cursing, swearing, and drunk- 
enness ; and in like manner, he requires and expects of all 
officers and soldiers not engaged on actual duty, a punctual 
attendance on divine service, to implore the blessings of 
Heaven upon the means used for our safety and defence." 

The very fact, however, that this model order was neces- 
sary may teach us after all that our own times are not 
worse than those which have preceded us, as some people 
are ever trying to have us believe. 

Naturally, Washington arranged the divisions of his army 
by colonies so that friends and neighbours might be kept 
together, and the jealousy felt by one colony for another, a 
source of constant trouble, might be guarded against as 
much as was possible. All together about sixteen thousand 
men were in the American army. 

What the life and duties of the soldiers were may per- 
haps be better understood by the following letter of William 
Emerson, a chaplain in the army at Cambridge, written not 
long after Washington assumed command of the forces : — 

" New lords, new laws. The generals, Washington and 
Lee, are upon the lines every day. New orders from his 
excellency are read to the respective regiments every morn- 
ing after prayers. The strictest government is taking place 
and great distinction is made between officers and soldiers. 
Every one is made to know his place and keep in it, or be 
tied up and receive thirty or forty lashes according to his 
crime. Thousands are at work every day from four till 
eleven o'clock in the morning. It is surprising how much 
work has been done. The lines are extended almost from 




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THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIERS Jl 

Cambridge to the Mystic River ; so that very soon it will 
be morally impossible for the enemy to get between the 
works, except in one place which is supposed to be left 
purposely unfortified, to entice the enemy out of their 
fortresses. Who would have thought twelve months past 
that all Cambridge and Charlestown would be covered over 
with American camps and cut up into forts and intrench- 
ments and all the lands, fields, and orchards laid common — 
horses and cattle feeding in the choicest mowing land, whole 
fields of corn eaten down to the ground, and large parks of 
well regulated locusts cut down for firewood and other public 
uses. This, I must say, looks a little melancholy. My 
quarters are at the foot of the famous Prospect Hill, where 
such preparations are made for the reception of the enemy. 
It is very diverting to walk among the camps. They are 
as different in their form as the owners are in their dress, 
and every tent is a portraiture of the temper and taste of 
the persons who encamp in it. Some are made of boards 
and some of sail-cloth ; some partly of one and partly of 
the other. Again, others are made of stone or turf, brick 
or brush. Some are thrown up in a hurry ; others are 
curiously wrought with doors and windows, done with 
wreaths and withes, in the manner of a basket. Some 
are your proper tents and marquees, looking like the 
regular camp of the enemy. In these are the Rhode 
Islanders, who are furnished with tent equipage and 
everything in the most exact English style. However, I 
think this great variety rather a beauty than a blemish in 
the army." 

The bulk of the army at Cambridge had been made up 
of men from the New England colonies, of whom naturally 
Massachusetts had provided the largest number. Others 



72 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

were hastening, however, to join the ranks, and in some of 
the colonies, notably Pennsylvania, so great was the enthu- 
siasm that measures had to be taken to restrict the num- 
bers. One of the Colonial newspapers informs us of the 
unique method employed by one leader to enable him to 
select the best men without giving offence to those who 
might not be chosen. He took a piece of chalk and drew 
on a board the picture of a nose of ordinary size. Then 
he placed his drawing at a distance of one hundred and 
fifty yards from the line and declared that those who could 
shoot nearest to the mark should be chosen to go to 
Cambridge with him. More than sixty hit the mark, and 
the newspaper sagely concludes its description of the 
incident by remarking : " General Gage, take care of your 
nose ! " 

" Daniel Morgan's riflemen," composed for the most part 
of pioneers from Virginia, together with a few from Mary- 
land and Western Pennsylvania, were among the best of 
the recruits, although the New England men were not as 
cordial in their welcome as they might have been owing to 
their prejudice against Irishmen, for the majority of this 
band were of Irish birth. They were famous for their 
skill with the rifle, and it is said that on the run through 
the forest they could load their guns and that every man 
was able to hit a running squirrel at a distance of three 
hundred yards. The garb of these sharpshooters was also 
unique, and every one wore a loose hunting shirt, on the 
front of which were the well-known words of Patrick 
Henry, " Liberty or Death." The leader of this band, 
Daniel Morgan himself, was as unique as his men. Born 
in New Jersey, of Welsh descent, he was a giant in statare 
and possessed of a physical strength almost beyond belief. 



THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIERS 73 

At one time he had received five hundred lashes on the 
bare back by the order of a British officer, and at another 
he had escaped from the Indians after having been shot 
through the neck by a rifle ball. 

Among the leaders were also many men destined to 
become famous. There was Nathanael Greene, next to 
Washington the ablest general of the Revolution. It is 
said that this young Rhode Island blacksmith, or iron 
worker, in spite of the fact that he was the son of a 
Quaker, had become so fond of the study of military sci- 
ence that he endured a sound whipping when he was a 
grown man at the hands of his irate and peaceful father, 
rather than abandon his pursuits. Young Greene had 
left the Friends at this time, however, but whether it 
was because of his fondness for the camps or the influ- 
ence of his sprightly little wife, Kate Littlefield Greene, is 
not known. Then there was Benedict Arnold and John 
Hart and John Sullivan and Artemas Ward, Heath, Knox, 
and a host of men who little realized at the time the part 
they were to take in the history of a nation that was not 
yet born. Israel Putnam, who had left his plough for 
the camp, as we know, was also at Cambridge, and " Old 
Put " was to prove himself worthy of his name. He had 
served throughout the French and Indian war and had 
been wounded fifteen different times. At one time the 
Indians had made him a prisoner, and after scalping him 
had tied him to a tree and were about to put an end to his 
life with a tomahawk when a French officer happening at 
the time to pass near the unfortunate man, quickly freed 
him and thereby, saved his life. Last and lowest of all was 
Charles Lee, though next to Washington in his position, 
feared and looked up to by many of the Americans for the 



74 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

simple reason that he had fought in Europe. It would 
have saved Washington and the little nation many a hard 
blow if the ugly, smooth-tongued, but treacherous and 
unreliable man had never crossed the sea to claim his 
estates in Virginia. But come he did, and of his treachery 
we shall soon learn. 

With these leaders and men differing in their opinions and 
training, enlisted for different terms of service, quartered by 
themselves and keeping alive not only a bitter feeling for 
England, but each a jealous love for his own colony, with 
no common country though they had a common cause, 
with flags of different kinds floating over the camps (the 
most common flag was known as the " Rattlesnake flag," 
from the fact that it had as a design a coiled rattlesnake 
and the words " Don't tread on me " ), the new commander 
was striving to hold the British in Boston as well as to 
bring his followers into some form of discipline and order. 
There was frequent firing between the lines and occasional 
minor skirmishes, but there was no serious engagement as 
the summer passed. The following extract from a letter 
from Cambridge, written for the New York Gazette at the 
close of July, will perhaps explain the character of the 
work and experience of the opposing armies : — 

" During a severe cannonade at Roxbury last week, a 
bomb thirteen inches in diameter fell within the American 
lines and burnt furiously, when four of the artillerymen 
ran up and one kicked out the fuse, saved the bomb and 
probably some lives — a stroke of heroism worthy of 
record. The regulars have so hardened the provincials 
by their repeated firing that a cannonading is just as 
much minded as a common thunder shower. All things 
look well. The provincials are now as strongly posted 



THE CONTINENTAL SOLDIERS 75 

as are the regulars. Neither side are \sic~\ willing to attack 
the other in their lines." 

The monotony of the camp life was to be rudely broken, 
however, and assuming the aggressive the Americans were 
resolved to carry the war into the country of the enemy, 
and the desperately courageous but unsuccessful expedi- 
tion led by Benedict Arnold against Quebec was soon 
undertaken. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE MARCH ON QUEBEC AND THE EVACUATION OF BOSTON 

While Washington was trying to get his army into 
form about Boston, other events, and of a very stirring 
kind, were occurring not far away. General Philip Schuy- 
ler was now in command of the division along Lake Cham- 
plain, where, as we have already learned, Benedict Arnold 
had gone to capture Fort Ticonderoga, but had been com- 
pelled to yield the leadership of the expedition to Ethan 
Allen. Although he had only a few followers, Arnold had 
succeeded in taking the few British boats on the lake ; but 
he did not enjoy holding a position inferior to that of Allen, 
and at last became so angry that he wrote a savage letter 
resigning the position to which the Provincial Congress of 
Massachusetts had elected him, and then returned to Cam- 
bridge with many complaints about his ill-usage. 

Benedict Arnold was a very brave man, one who never 
asked his men to do what he was not willing to do himself, 
and when action was required his boldness was as mag- 
netic as his example. He was, however, of a very jealous 
disposition, and quick to sulk whenever he fancied that 
he had been slighted or ignored. Washington fully 
appreciated the man, and was quick to use him, and 
perhaps, if his words had been followed, we never should 
have heard of Arnold the traitor. This does not in the 
least excuse Arnold for his treachery, though he was very 

76 



THE MARCH ON QUEBEC 77 

unjustly treated; but it may, in part, explain the causes 
that led to his overthrow at last. 

At this time Arnold, and, indeed, many other men as 
well, were very strongly in favour of invading Canada. He 
had already written Congress suggesting a plan by which 
he confidently believed that 2000 men might easily win all 
of that country. He declared that Carleton, the governor 
of Canada, had only 550 men under him who were of any 
account, and that word had already been received that the 
gates of Montreal would be thrown open to the Americans 
the moment that a strong force of Continentals appeared 
before the town. He wanted very much to lead the expe- 
dition himself, and declared that he was willing to assume 
all the responsibility of the proposed movement. 

Congress, however, as we know, was timid. The body 
had no clearly defined power, many of its members were 
strongly opposed to doing anything more than was abso- 
lutely necessary to protect themselves, and still fondly 
believed that the king and Parliament would listen to their 
pleas. Ethan Allen had also made a similar proposal, and 
later he visited Philadelphia himself, though his chief object 
seems to have been to secure pay for the soldiers who had 
been with him at Ticonderoga, and to get permission to 
raise a new regiment. It is said that Allen and his com- 
panions appeared in person before Congress, and orally 
made known their wants ; and so strong was the impres- 
sion made by the rough soldiers that the desired permis- 
sion to raise the new force of Green Mountain Boys was 
obtained, and the enthusiastic men hastened back to join 
Schuyler and Montgomery, who were in command at Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point. 

The fear that the British in Canada would strive to 



?8 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

retake Ticonderoga, together with several other strong 
reasons, at last led to the decision to send an expedition 
into Canada, and in September, 1775, the forces of Schuy- 
ler and Montgomery appeared before St. John's at the 
Sorel. 

The fort was more strongly garrisoned than they had 
thought; so instead of trying to assault it, Schuyler has- 
tened back to Ticonderoga for reinforcements. The rein- 
forcements were speedily sent, but Schuyler himself was 
taken ill and could not return, and so the command was 
left to Montgomery, who proved himself to be more than 
equal to the occasion ; for after a siege of fifty days he 
captured Fort Chambly and Fort St. John's, and then push- 
ing on, soon afterward, on November 12th, 1775, entered 
Montreal in triumph. 

Without delaying long at Montreal the young leader 
started on for Quebec, where he was to lay down his life as 
gloriously as Wolfe had done a few years before this time. 
It is to be feared that even the Americans in later years 
have almost forgotten this brave hero in the common glory 
which has been ascribed by England and America alike to 
Wolfe; but common justice demands that the one should 
not receive less praise, as the other has received his great 
and merited honor. 

As Montgomery had served under Wolfe, perhaps he 
had learned his lessons from that great leader. At all 
events, he had proved himself to be a worthy pupil. 

Meanwhile Colonel Benedict Arnold was to have the 
fondest desire of his heart gratified, for Washington had 
detached a thousand of the New England infantry and 
Morgan's riflemen, and also two companies of the Penn- 
sylvania men, and placing them under the command of 



THE MARCH ON QUEBEC 79 

Arnold, ordered them to start for Quebec. The winter 
would soon be coming on, the advance was to be by the 
Kennebec and Chaudiere rivers, and through an unbroken 
wilderness ; but this seems to have been the very thing 
that Arnold most enjoyed. When his men were rowing 
against the swift current of the rivers, or pushing or 
crawling through the thick underbrush, or wading through 
the half-frozen swamps, it was his example and presence 
that cheered his followers on. Their clothing torn, their 
shoes worn out, their supplies gone, and the game of the 
forest by no means plentiful, slight cause for wonder is it 
that many of the men became ill and died on the way, and 
that before the fearful march of thirty-three days had 
been completed, two hundred had perished and as many 
more had turned back toward Cambridge, carrying with 
them others who were sick or helpless. It is said that 
the wives of some of the men accompanied their husbands 
on this terrible march through the wilderness, and that 
they endured the hardships even better than did the men. 
This was not to be the only time, however, when the 
determined American women were to share the hardships 
of the camps and armies, and lend the inspiration of their 
presence to the struggling soldiers of the colonies. 

At last the march was completed, and as bravely as if 
he had all of Washington's army at his back, Arnold with 
his little force of seven hundred men crossed the St. Law- 
rence, climbed the Heights of Abraham, and as boldly as 
Ethan Allen had demanded of the astounded commander 
the surrender of Ticonderoga, called upon the garrison to 
come out and fight or else surrender the town. 

Very wisely the garrison refused to do either, for why 
should they ? They were comfortable, well protected, 



80 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

and had everything to lose and nothing to gain by leaving 
the forts, just the reverse of the conditions which Arnold 
and his men would be compelled to face ; and it was more 
than likely that the cold of the winter would be sufficient 
of itself to conquer the intrepid American if he should be 
so reckless as to remain. 

So Arnold had to try to be patient and wait for the 
arrival of Montgomery ; but doubtless the delay had much 
to do with the reckless attempt to storm the town that 
soon afterward was made, for whatever else he might do, 
Benedict Arnold did not know how to wait. That test of 
a great man he always failed to meet. 

General Carleton, a few days afterward, managed to 
slip into Quebec all unbeknown to the Americans, and on 
December 3d Montgomery and his little band, which 
swelled the numbers of the besiegers to twelve hundred, 
joined Arnold. 

Again and again they demanded of Carleton that he 
should come forth and fight, but the British general was 
too shrewd to be tempted by the taunts of his enemies to 
leave the shelter of the forts, and at last Arnold and 
Montgomery decided to storm the place — all of which 
" was magnificent, but it was not war." And yet their 
plan almost succeeded, though then, as now, " almost " is 
but to fail. 

It was two o'clock in the morning of the last day of 
1775. It was bitterly cold, and the driving snow almost 
prevented every soldier from seeing a yard before him. 
On one side of the town Montgomery and his men 
advanced, and on the other moved Arnold and his forces. 
Strange as it may seem, Montgomery, aided by the sur- 
prise and the storm, almost gained his side of the town. 



THE MARCH ON QUEBEC 8 1 

Steadily, doggedly, he moved forward, and just at the mo- 
ment when it seemed as if success was to be his, the intrepid 
young general fell dead with three bullets in his body. 

His followers, staggered by the loss, hesitated, stopped 
their advance for the moment, and then, as the approach- 
ing reinforcements of the garrison at that moment were 
seen, the soldiers, without a leader, and not knowing what 
to do, fell back. Had they held the ground they had won 
Quebec would have fallen, for Arnold was fighting with 
desperate zeal on the other side of the town. His sword 
was as the sword of ten. His voice, his arm, his zeal, all 
appealed to the men beside him. Stubbornly, bravely, 
recklessly, they all fought on. Arnold fell to the ground 
terribly wounded, and was carried from the field, but still 
the fight went on. Daniel Morgan and his riflemen 
rushed to the front at the fall of Arnold. They stormed 
the battery. They even made their way into the town ; 
but neither Montgomery nor his men were there to meet 
him, and soon cut off from support, the Virginia men were 
prisoners, and Quebec was still held by the British. 

Though driven back, Benedict Arnold still did not give 
up, for he did not know how. He had lost the aid of 
Montgomery, and now had less than one thousand men 
with him, but moving to a place about three miles distant 
from the town he dug intrenchments and prepared his 
camp, hoping to be able to prevent supplies from being car- 
ried into Quebec, and thereby bring the garrison to terms. 
The British general, Carleton, who was well aware that 
just as soon as spring came and the ice had gone out of 
the St. Lawrence, reinforcements would be sent him, 
simply did nothing but wait, and so displayed the very best 
of generalship. 



82 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

How the terrible winter was endured, with the cold, 
hunger, and smallpox accomplishing far more destruction 
among his men than the bullets of the enemy had been 
able to effect, only Arnold himself could have told. It 
was true that his force had been increased by the coming 
of other men until it numbered three thousand, but with 
eight hundred of these ill with the smallpox, it was not a 
force of which Carleton naturally stood in any great fear. 

April ist, General Wooster came from Montreal, and as 
he was superior in rank to Arnold, he assumed the com- 
mand of the besieging force. It was warmer now, and the 
men were able to work, so batteries were erected and the 
cannon were brought to bear upon the town though no dam- 
age was done. It was at this time that Arnold's horse 
one day slipped and fell upon the general's leg which had 
been so terribly wounded in the attack on the town. This 
latest accident rendered Arnold unfit for service, and so 
he obtained permission to leave for Montreal. As he did 
not love Wooster any more than he had loved Ethan Allen, 
the permission was granted without any very great regret 
on either side, and Arnold withdrew to Montreal. 

In May, General Thomas came, but as Carleton at the 
time also received large reinforcements, the Americans 
were forced to beat so hasty a retreat that they were even 
compelled to leave much of their stores and many of their 
sick behind them. It is a pleasure to record that the latter 
were kindly treated, and afterward were sent to their 
homes. 

At the Sorel, after having received reinforcements, Gen- 
eral Thomas tried to halt and prepare to meet the British ; 
but smallpox seized upon him, and soon carried him away. 
His death left the sterling General Sullivan, of whom we 



EVACUATION OF BOSTON 83 

shall hear much later, in command ; but not even he was 
able to withstand the advancing forces of Burgoyne, and 
soon all the American army had returned to their own 
country, and the invasion of Canada was at an end. 

Before this had come to pass, however, Washington had 
succeeded in driving the British out of Boston. On the 
4th of March, deceiving the British by the heavy fire from 
other directions, he had sent two thousand men to Dor- 
chester Heights, and at the dawn of the following morn- 
ing the redcoats were astonished to behold the great guns 
in place on the heights above them. 

The admiral bluntly declared that unless those intrench- 
ments were taken his fleet would be withdrawn, for he did 
not care to expose his vessels to the fire which he knew 
would not be vain. Lord Percy was at last bidden to take 
three thousand men and advance to storm the place held 
by the Americans; but it is one thing to say what ought to 
be done, and quite a different one to do it. The redcoats 
had not forgotten Bunker Hill, and as a hard storm just 
then swept over the region, it afforded an excellent pretext 
for a delay. 

On the following day, when the storm had passed, it was 
discovered that the hardy Americans had not stopped for 
the rain, and their fortifications were now too strong to be 
attacked, and nothing was left for the British to do but to 
evacuate Boston. Threatening to burn the town if his 
troops were fired upon (Washington, wisely but greatly to 
the disgust of some of his men, agreed that his guns would 
be silent during the departure), the eight thousand Brit- 
ish troops embarked on the fleet and sailed away for Hali- 
fax. And from that day, March 17th, 1776, until this 
many men have been accustomed when in anger to bid 



84 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

their enemies depart for the same destination. The British 
had left powder, cannon, and stores behind them when 
they departed, and the needy American troops were almost 
as rejoiced to gain these supplies as they were over the 
departure of the redcoats. 



CHAPTER X 

INDEPENDENCE 

Three events had occurred outside the armies that did 
very much toward hastening the separation between the 
colonies and the mother country. One of these was the 
refusal of the king and Parliament even to receive, much 
less to listen to, the delegate who was sent by Congress 
to present the last appeal of the patriots for justice and 
kindness at the hands of their rulers. As we already 
know, the mass of the people, as well as of the members of 
Congress, had been opposed to independence. They de- 
clared that they still loved England, the home of their 
fathers and the former home of many of them, and that 
they had no desire to cut loose from that land. Some of 
the leaders deeply revered the name of the nation of 
which they still claimed to be a part ; others, who were 
property owners, were fearful of the losses that would be 
theirs in case of a revolution ; and still others were of 
that conservative class which is ever bitterly opposed to 
anything like a radical change in existing conditions. 

Nearly all the people in America, however, were agreed 
that the colonies were being treated very harshly, and when 
the last petition was curtly rejected, and even the man who 
carried it to England was not listened to, and his very prayer 
was not heard, it began to make some think that mild meas- 
ures were not to be relied upon longer. Benjamin Franklin, 

»5 



86 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, and others 
had for some time believed that independence was the 
only hope remaining, but they had been in such a minor- 
ity that even these bold men had not deemed it wise to 
say very much about their own convictions. 

The second event that inflamed the feelings of the 
Americans was the wanton burning of Falmouth, Maine 
(now Portland), October 16th, 1775. Captain Mowatt with 
four British vessels had sailed into the harbour and set 
fire to the town. Churches, public buildings, and houses 
were all treated alike ; and when the sun went down on 
that day, less than a fourth of the town remained standing, 
and more than a thousand men, women, and children 
were without a shelter of any kind, and had no protection 
from the cold weather which would soon be upon them. 
And, worst of all, there was absolutely no excuse for 
this wanton deed, and even the anger of those who had 
thus far not entered into the spirit of the struggle soon 
burned as fiercely as the blazing town of Falmouth when 
the news spread over the land. 

Congress learned of the British captain's cruelty, on the 
31st of October, but even the report of the sad plight of 
the Maine people was somewhat overshadowed by the news 
that King George had "hired" twenty thousand Hessian 
soldiers to come with his own reinforcements to America, 
and assist, by one strong vigorous campaign, in forever put- 
ting " his rebellious subjects in America " into the proper 
attitude of body and of mind. 

Again and again rumours had been current that George 
III. was about to employ mercenaries to help him subdue 
the colonies, but even the most bitter Tories had indig- 
nantly denied that their ruler would ever be guilty of the 



INDEPENDENCE 87 

baseness of using hired soldiers to kill his own subjects. 
Nor were the angry Americans the only ones to express 
such sentiments, for Empress Catherine of Russia, to 
whom King George had first applied for troops, had, at 
the time when she refused to provide the men, almost 
taunted him with the very same words used by the colo- 
nists themselves. 

But the king had succeeded in obtaining the men from 
the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel (it is said the gambling 
debts of the petty prince played no small part in the 
transaction), and so it came to pass that four of the most 
successful of European generals and twenty thousand of 
the best-drilled troops were to be sent to America, in 
addition to such troops as England's king could spare 
from the wars in which he was then engaged or with 
which he fancied himself to be threatened. 

How the Americans did hate those Hessian soldiers! 
They did not stop to think that the men themselves were not 
to blame, but the fault was to be charged to their rulers, 
who had sold their services and compelled them to leave 
their homes and kindred and cross the sea to shoot men 
against whom they had no grievance, and for whose quarrel 
they themselves cared nothing at all. " Dutch butchers " 
the angry Americans termed them, and the hatred and 
contempt they felt for the foreign soldiers cannot be 
fully appreciated to-day. 

The language spoken by the Hessians sounded strangely 
gruff in their ears. For the most part, they were large 
men, and their very dress, to which they very foolishly and 
tenaciously clung in all sorts of places and in all kinds of 
weather, added much to the strangeness of their appear- 
ance. Their high fur hats ; their long jack-boots that came 



88 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

to the thighs, each foot being equipped with a long, heavy, 
and cruel spur ; the thick short broadsword ; the short car- 
bine ; and the heavy gun with which every soldier was sup- 
plied made up a strange garb. But more impressive than 
any or all of these was the heavy black mustache each 
soldier permitted to grow long, which he was also said 
to dye every morning with shoe-blacking. This imparted 
a ferocious aspect to their faces, to which the smoothly 
shaved Continentals were in no wise accustomed. 

These three events, like the last straws which are said 
(in connection with all the rest of the load) to break the 
back of the proverbial camel, proved to be too much for 
the long-suffering Americans. 

North Carolina, where the first bloodshed of the war 
had occurred, was now also the first to declare herself in 
favour of independence, and so to instruct her delegates to 
the Congress at Philadelphia. Other colonies followed 
her example, until at last all but New York had recorded 
themselves in favour of the action which was forever to 
separate the new land from the old. Although New York 
had not been able to express herself in favour of the pro- 
posed declaration, it was well understood how the most of 
her people felt concerning the matter, and the men in 
Philadelphia proceeded with their deliberations as confi- 
dently as if a formal vote in New York had been secured. 

It was on June 7th, 1776, when Richard Henry Lee of 
Virginia had risen in the presence of the Congress, and 
with his clear ringing voice — he was a marvellous orator 
— had fearlessly read aloud the resolution, " That these 
united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and 
independent states ; and that all political connection 
between us and the State of Great Britain is, and ought 



INDEPENDENCE 89 

to be, totally dissolved." John Adams quickly seconded 
the resolution, though for the sake of the safety of the 
lives of the two men, Congress directed its secretary to 
omit from the records the name of each man. The wide 
world knows, however, all about it to-day. 

The consideration of the resolution was after two delays 
postponed until the first of July, by which time it was 
believed that every colony would have put itself on record 
and instructed its delegates how to vote. A committee 
was nevertheless appointed to prepare a declaration, and 
the following men were named as members of it : Thomas 
Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, 
Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of 
Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingstone of New York. 
Naturally we would suppose that the name of Richard 
Henry Lee, who had introduced the resolution, would 
have been placed on this list, but the illness of his wife 
had compelled him to leave for home, and his absence 
therefore accounts for the non-appearance of his name. 
He was there in spirit, if he was compelled to be absent 
in the body. 

On the first day of July, 1776, with Benjamin Harrison 
in the chair, the resolution was brought up for action. 
The Declaration of Independence had been drawn up 
by Thomas Jefferson, who had been appointed chairman 
of the committee. He was a very young man at this time, 
a delegate from Virginia, not very much of a speaker, 
though his pen had already become known not only as 
that of a " ready writer " but of an able writer as well. 
Jefferson had desired John Adams to draw up the docu- 
ment ; but Adams, as far-sighted as he had been when he 
had secured the appointment of Washington as commander- 



90 



HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



in-chief of the army, and for very much the same reasons, 
insisted upon his young colleague doing the work. In his 
autobiography John Adams gave the following reasons 
for declining to do the work, and for his insistence that 
Jefferson should do it: " i. That he was a Virginian and 
I a Massachusettensian. 2. That he was a Southern man 
and I a Northern one. 3. That I had been so obnoxious 
for my early and constant zeal in promoting the measure, 
that every draft of mine would undergo a more severe 
scrutiny and criticism in Congress than one of his com- 
position. 4. And lastly, and that would be reason enough 
if there were no other, I had a great opinion of the ele- 
gance of his pen and none at all of my own. I therefore 
insisted that no hesitation should be made on his part. 
He accordingly took the minutes, and in a day or two pro- 
duced me his draft." 

Richard Henry Lee was absent on that first day of 
July, as we have said, owing to the illness in his family, 
and John Adams was called upon to defend the resolution 
he had seconded. Perhaps he was not the fiery, magnetic 
speaker that Lee was, but he was a man of greater intel- 
lect, and his speech was a powerful one. Doubtless many 
of those who are reading these pages have declaimed in 
their school days portions of that speech, or supposed 
portions, before admiring audiences, and have declared 
that "sink or swim, survive or perish," they were unhesi- 
tatingly in favour of independence. Samuel Adams of 
Massachusetts, Dr. Witherspoon of New Jersey, Edward 
Rutledge of South Carolina, and others also spoke 
warmly in its favour. 

The resolution was opposed by some, for what measure 
ever yet existed to which all men agreed ? The strongest 



INDEPENDENCE 9 1 

speech in opposition was made by John Dickinson, who 
brought forward points that in one form or another have 
been urged against every new movement since the world 
began. 

" The country would not be any stronger, proposed 
alliances with France, Spain, or other foreign nations 
were all uncertain. There would be no hope of future 
favours from Great Britain. The colonies themselves had 
no settled government, and first all these details should 
be arranged, and then America might take her place 
among the nations of the world " — all of which was not 
without weight, but after all was very much like the 
consent of the anxious mother for her boy to enter the 
water after he had learned to swim ; or telling a young 
teacher or physician that he will be employ ed after he shall 
have had some experience. Learning comes by experience, 
and centuries ago a writer declared that all such reasons as 
those advanced by John Dickinson against any movement 
which of itself was right, would usually prevent the meas- 
ure itself from being entered upon. " He that observeth 
the wind shall not sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds 
shall not reap." 

The resolution declaring the colonies to be free and 
independent was unanimously adopted on the second day 
of July, 1776. Nine colonies the preceding day had voted 
in favour of it. New York was silent because, as we have 
said, her delegates had not been instructed. Pennsylvania 
voted nay, and so did South Carolina. Delaware also was 
counted in the negative, although one of her delegates 
cast his vote in favour of adopting the resolution. The 
final vote was unanimous, at least as far as twelve colonies 
were concerned, for the New York delegates, though 



92 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

not opposed to it, did not feel that they ought to vote 
for it. 

The form drawn up by Jefferson was modified and 
slightly changed, and after a full discussion, was adopted, 
July 4th, 1776. 

It was two o'clock in the afternoon. A great crowd of 
excited people had assembled in the streets, for by this 
time all the people of Philadelphia were aware of what 
was in the air. The slow moments passed, and many 
began to fear that Congress after all had become alarmed 
and the measure would fail. The old bellman was up in 
the steeple waiting anxiously for the signal. He had 
stationed a lad in a place where he could easily perceive 
him, and the boy was to inform him just as soon as the 
vote had been taken. Still the time dragged on. Would 
the end never come ? 

At last a sudden great shout went up from the assem- 
bled crowd, the boy clapped his hands and joined in the 
outcry, and the old bellman knew the moment had arrived, 
and instantly the great iron tongue of the liberty bell sent 
forth its clamour, heard like the reports of the guns at 
Concord and Lexington " around the world." Cannon 
were fired, people shouted and sang. There were bonfires 
and illuminations in the evening, and grown men, as well 
as the ever present small boys, seemed to be beside them- 
selves with joy. 

It was a great day. It is a great thing to be free. To 
declare that a county is free is one thing, and to be free is, 
however, quite a different one, as the excited colonists were 
yet to learn by many sad and terrible experiences ; but the 
birth of these United States of America was an assured 
fact from the day when the Continental Congress assem- 



INDEPENDENCE 93 

bled in the old State House at Philadelphia, and the 
" Liberty Bell " sent forth its peals which are yet ringing. 

Although few realized what the declaration meant, they 
all, or nearly all, entered into the celebrations that fol- 
lowed. The fifty-six men who had signed it were very 
much in earnest, and their own feeling, as well as the 
declaration itself, helped to arouse others. 

In New York, whither Washington with his army had 
come after the British had departed from Boston, what 
was done was recorded in one of the newspapers as fol- 
lows : " This afternoon (July 10, 1776) the Declaration of 
Independence was read at the head of each brigade of the 
Continental army posted at, and in the vicinity of, New 
York. It was received everywhere with loud huzzas and 
the utmost demonstrations of joy ; and to-night the eques- 
trian statue of George III., which Tory pride and folly 
raised in the year 1770, has by the Sons of Freedom been 
laid prostrate in the dirt — the just desert of an ungrateful 
tyrant! The lead wherewith the monument was made is 
to be run into bullets, to assimilate with the brains of our 
infatuated adversaries, who, to gain a peppercorn, have 
lost an empire. 1 A gentleman who was present at this 
ominous fall of leaden majesty, looking back at the original 
hopeful's beginning, pertinently exclaimed in the language 
of the Angel to Lucifer : — 

"'If thou be'st he ! But, ah, how fallen ! how changed!'" 

Still the king of lead did more good to the struggling 
soldiers than ever the king of flesh had done, for the store 
of bullets was largely increased by the melted statue. 

1 Lord Clare had said openly in the House of Commons that a pepper- 
corn in acknowledgment of Britain's right to tax America, was of more im- 
portance than millions without it. 



94 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

The real celebration in Boston occurred July 17th, when 
to a vast crowd of excited people assembled at Faneuil 
Hall, Colonel Crafts read the entire declaration. The 
great assembly had been silent throughout the reading, 
even the jubilant small boys realizing that something of 
an extraordinary nature was going on ; but when at last 
the final paragraph had been read, such a shout went up 
that it is said to have shaken the old "Cradle of Liberty." 
Then the guns of the near-by batteries began to roar, giving 
vent to the feelings of the people by firing thirteen rounds. 

In Philadelphia there had been an exciting time, not only 
when the old bell had been rung after the vote in Congress 
had been taken, but on July 8th, when there was another 
and special celebration. There was an immense crowd on 
Walnut street to hear the reading, and as soon as it had 
been completed, the arms of the king were torn from their 
place in the court room and burned in a huge bonfire in 
the street. The bonfires and shouts and parades were 
kept up till midnight, when a heavy thunder-shower at 
last dampened the ardour of the crowds, and sent even the 
boys home for shelter. 

Nor were the celebrations confined to the large towns. 
Throughout the colonies there were banquets, anvils were 
fired, parades marched up and down the streets, and the 
first celebration of the Fourth of July certainly was not 
lacking in noise, although different dates were selected by 
different towns for the occasion. 

The college boys at Nassau Hall (Princeton) made al- 
most as great a commotion as they do now over a victory 
in foot-ball won from a rival college. Trenton, New Lon- 
don, Charleston, Savannah, Newport, and other towns were 
particularly noticeable for their noisy delight. 



INDEPENDENCE 95 

At Elizabethtown (Elizabeth), New Jersey, the old news- 
papers record the words of one worthy mother, that be- 
came familiar during the war and have not been forgotten 
since. While the people were celebrating, doubtless as 
noisily as in other towns, there came a rumour that the 
British were about to attack the town. Instantly the 
men prepared for the more serious work of defending 
their homes, and among those who eagerly offered them- 
selves were four brothers, all young men. Although they 
were the only boys she had, the mother, when they were 
ready to go, instead of showing any fear, boldly said to 
them : " My children, you are going out to fight in a just 
cause, for the rights and liberties of your country. You 
have my blessing and prayer that God will protect and 
assist you. But if you fall, His will be done. Let me 
beg of you, my boys, that, if you fall, it may be like men, 
and that your wounds may not be in your back parts." 

The world has ever made much of the old Spartan 
mothers, but surely the mothers of the Revolution are also 
worthy of a place in our regard. 



CHAPTER XI 
moore's creek and sullivan's island 

The colonies, although they had declared themselves to 
be independent of Great Britain, were still far from being 
united among themselves, and many weary years were to 
pass before they were to become one true nation. 

At the time of the declaration, however, two events had 
occurred which greatly strengthened the faith of the people, 
and both of these were in the South. 

In North Carolina, as has already been related, had 
occurred the first bloody engagement between the colo- 
nists and the forces of the king. This same colony had 
also been the first to declare herself in favour of indepen- 
dence, and at this very time another event took place within 
her borders that added much to the enthusiasm of the 
people of other colonies as well as of her own. 

Many Scotchmen, Highlanders for the most part, had 
within a few years left their homes and crossed the 
ocean to make for themselves new abodes in the upper 
parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 
These people were devoted Tories, and although they had 
in the old country fought for liberty, in the new land they 
seemed to be opposed to the efforts of their neighbours to 
resist the tyranny of the king. Relying upon the aid which 
it was supposed they would give the redcoats, Sir Henry 
Clinton, with some two thousand troops, in January, 1776, 

96 



MOORE'S CREEK AND SULLIVAN'S ISLAND 97 

had sailed away from Boston for the Cape Fear River. 
The governor of the colony of North Carolina had prom- 
ised to add at least sixteen hundred Highlanders to Clin- 
ton's forces, and at the same time it was expected that 
ships and regiments from Ireland would arrive to join the 
army there. 

The patriots of North Carolina were not asleep, how- 
ever, and a hastily assembled force of men took their stand 
by the road where the Scotchmen were to pass on their way 
to join Clinton. Nor had they long to wait, for very soon 
the men were seen to be approaching, and at the bridge 
over Moore's Creek the battle began. It was not much 
more than a beginning, however, for in a half-hour the 
Scotchmen were ready to quit ; but the Americans were 
of another mind, for they not only held about nine hun- 
dred of the men who tried to flee, but also captured a 
goodly sum of money, and what was of still greater 
importance, some two thousand stands of arms. The 
Scotch leader, who was known as his wife's husband, 
being none other than Alan Macdonald, whose wife, 
Flora, had at one time saved the life of Charles Edward, 
was cast into jail, and the effect of the daring stand of 
the patriots, outnumbered as they had been almost two 
to one, had about the same effect in the South :hat 
Ticonderoga and Lexington and the evacuation of Boston 
had had in the New England colonies, and the one thou- 
sand men who had stopped the march of the Scotch at 
Moore's Creek, February 27th, 1776, were speedily in- 
creased to ten times that number. 

So Sir Henry Clinton very soon decided that South 
Carolina was a more promising field for his efforts 
than North Carolina, and as the fleet had not yet arrived 



98 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

from Ireland, he spent the most of his time in cruis- 
ing about Albemarle Sound. Parker's fleet arrived in 
May, and then Clinton and Parker began to talk over 
the best plan of driving the Americans out of the little 
fort which' had been built on Sullivan's Island. This 
fort commanded the harbour, and Clinton's only question 
was not whether the place could be taken or not, but how 
could it best be done, and with the least possible loss to his 
own men. As soon as the fort should fall into his hands, 
then South Carolina, where the Tories and Whigs were 
both unusually active, would be at his mercy, or so he 
fondly believed. 

Colonel William Moultrie had built this fort, using piles 
of sand and logs of palmetto in its construction, and at 
this time had about twelve hundred men under his com- 
mand, while in Charleston itself was Charles Lee, who 
had been ordered there to protect the town, and command 
the five thousand militiamen who had assembled. 

Lee " knew all about it," or declared he did, which some- 
times impresses others almost as much as genuine know- 
ledge. He had " fought in Europe," a fact he did not 
forget, nor was he likely to let any one else forget it either. 
He laughed at Moultrie, poked fun at the fort, and very 
kindly showed him just how everything ought to be ; but 
Colonel Moultrie had a mind of his own, and was not to be 
overawed by Lee, even if the latter had fought in Europe. 
And as John Rutledge, who was then president of the 
South Carolina Congress, was of the same mind, — Moul- 
trie had his own way, and as the event proved, greatly 
to his credit ; although all the time Lee, with his char- 
acteristic bluster, claimed all the glory of the victory, and 
many of the ignorant colonists believed him, too ; for had 
he not " fought in Europe " ? 



MOORE'S CREEK AND SULLIVAN'S ISLAND 99 

It was the twenty-eighth day of June, 1776. Clinton 
had decided to land three thousand of his men on a sand 
bar in the harbour, and let them wade to the fort, and 
if the Americans showed any disposition at all to stand 
before the redcoats, then the guns of Parker's fleet were 
to attend to them. The redcoats were planning to use 
their bayonets, and did not dream that the rude and 
poorly equipped militia would stand for a moment before 
them. News travelled slowly in those days, and perhaps 
Clinton's soldiers had forgotten what had occurred about a 
year before this time on Bunker Hill. 

The redcoats landed on the sand bars, but to their con- 
sternation they discovered, when they tried to cross the 
shoals, that instead of the water coming only to their 
waists, it was in places over the heads of the tallest. 
As they stood there in the water another enemy appeared, 
which was nothing more than the mosquitoes, which 
seemed to be just as eager for the red blood of the red- 
coats as ever the mosquito of the Jersey colony had been, 
though there were people then as there are now who 
profess to believe that the little torment is no respecter 
of persons at all. 

At all events, they fell upon the British soldiers in 
swarms that day, and so busy were the redcoats trying to 
find footing in the shoals, and some defence against the 
mosquitoes, that most of the fighting was between the fleet 
and the fort. Somehow the Americans did not seem to 
be so badly frightened by the cannon-shot after all, and 
although they did not have sufficient ammunition to give 
back shot for shot, they made almost every one that they 
did fire tell ; and at last, when ten hours had passed, 
only one of the ten vessels in the British fleet was fit 



100 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

to sail in, the flagship was almost a wreck, and the loss 
in killed and wounded was 205, while the Americans had 
had a loss of only 37, the despised palmetto-log fort was 
practically unharmed, and only one gun in all the hours of 
the fight had been put out of action. 

The fort on Sullivan's Island has been known since that 
time as Fort Moultrie, and certainly a better name for it 
could not be found, for it was the sturdy colonel who, 
though he had never " fought in Europe," still knew 
enough to understand the value of sand and palmetto 
logs, and by his valour and that of his men had saved 
Charleston, and indeed the whole of South Carolina, for 
a time from the attacks of the British. Clinton and 
Parker, delaying only long enough to do such repairing as 
would enable their boats to put to sea, after three weeks 
sailed away for New York. 

It was said afterward by some of the men who best 
knew Colonel Moultrie, that the only reason why he never 
rose to the very front rank was that he was never punctual. 
At another time he delayed in the city until he was too 
late to use the tide, and so the expedition he was to lead 
was lost, and many men laid down lives that might have 
been saved had Moultrie been on time. The same writer 
quotes the words of a great Englishman, who declared that 
his habit of being not only on time but a quarter of an 
hour in advance of each appointment had made him lord 
high admiral of Great Britain. 1 

Doubtless other qualities besides that of punctuality are 

required to make a " lord high admiral of Great Britain," 

and without doubt Moultrie was still a brave and noble 

man in spite of his habit of being behind time. If the 

* Johnston's " Traditions and Reminiscences of the American Revolution." 



MOORE'S CREEK AND SULLIVAN'S ISLAND 10 1 

habit brought him sorrow afterward, and prevented him 
from obtaining the success he might have won, it cannot 
detract from his glorious defence of the fort that soon 
bore his name, nor from the inspiration his bravery gave 
to the little nation that had declared itself to be free 
and independent at the time when Moultrie's victory over 
Clinton and Parker was proclaimed throughout the land. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE STRUGGLE ON LONG ISLAND 

With Parker there had come to America a British 
soldier who was destined to play a very important part 
in the struggle which was then going on. This man was 
Lord Cornwallis, and when Clinton returned to New 
York, he at once became an active worker in Howe's 
army. For the British, who had sailed away for Halifax 
when they had evacuated Boston, had now come to New 
York, as Washington had thought they would do long 
before this time. Led on by his belief, the American 
leader had left Boston, and, with his men, had himself 
marched hastily for New York, well aware that the 
struggle would now be transferred to the Middle States. 

New England did not suffer much throughout the 
remainder of the war, for the British knowing how 
rough the coast there was, and how rugged were the 
men, and at the same time aware of the many Tories 
who were to be found in and near New York, and of 
the greater wealth there, and influenced also by the fact 
that their ships could be a great aid to the soldiers, de- 
cided upon that region as their next battle-ground. 

The South also for some time after the defence of 
Fort Moultrie was not to be seriously troubled, for there 
was no great wealth to be found there ; the patriots were 
very stubborn, and if the British could secure New York 
and the Hudson, they trusted that their armies in Canada 

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THE STRUGGLE ON LONG ISLAND 103 

would be able to make their way up through Lake 
Champlain and join their comrades in Albany, and so, 
by effectually splitting the colonies apart, particularly 
Massachusetts and Virginia, they would be able to crush 
the rebellion that very summer. 

Howe was, as we know, a man who felt great sym- 
pathy for the struggling Americans. He had come 
across the ocean reluctantly, and only because he had 
been ordered to come, and he was in great hope that he 
might, by " offering the olive branch," as he expressed it, 
be able to bring about peace once more. Washington 
had arrived at New York some time before the coming 
of Howe, and had used his army in fortifying various 
places, and making such provisions for defence as lay 
within his power. At this time the men in his ranks 
were better fitted to use the shovel than the gun, but 
with all his efforts, the American commander was not 
able to do very much, and so few were his followers that 
he could not even station any one on Staten Island to 
dispute the landing of the British there. 

The redcoats accordingly occupied that island on the 
28th of June, and their presence greatly alarmed all the 
Whigs in the surrounding region. Harshly as the Whigs 
were at times treated, the British army seemed to be even 
more angry at the Tories, and blamed them for all the 
trouble that had arisen, which was not altogether just 
or fair. 

When Washington had come to New York, Governor 
Tryon had fled for safety to a British ship in the near-by 
waters ; but so bitter was his hatred that he and the 
mayor of New York, David Matthews, and various other 
prominent men formed a plot that was as dastardly as 



104 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

it was cruel. This plot was to blow up the magazines 
of the Americans, and capture General Washington, who 
was either to be murdered, or tried for treason and hanged. 
There were reports current at the time that the scheme 
was to poison Washington, and it is even said that his 
cook had been bribed to place poison in a dish of peas, 
of which the general was known to be very fond. The 
following account is taken from a newspaper, the Pennsyl- 
vania Journal, of those days : — 

" Since Friday last, a most barbarous and infernal plot 
has been discovered among the Tories in New York. 
Two of General Washington's guards are concerned ; a 
third whom they tempted to join them made the first 
discovery. The general report of their design is as 
follows : upon the arrival of the British troops, they were 
to murder all the staff-officers, blow up the magazines, 
and secure all the passes of the town. Gilbert Forbes, 
a gunsmith in the Broadway, was taken between two and 
three o'clock on Saturday morning and carried before 
our Congress who were then sitting. He refused to 
make any discovery, upon which he was sent to jail. The 
Reverend Mr. Livingston went to see him early in the 
morning, and told him he was very sorry to find he had 
been concerned, that his time was very short, not having 
above three days to live, and advised him to prepare 
himself. This had the desired effect; and he requested 
to be carried before Congress again, promising to dis- 
cover all he knew. Several have since been taken, be- 
tween twenty and thirty, among them the mayor. They 
are all now in confinement. Their party, it is said, con- 
sisted of about five hundred." 

Two other extracts from newspapers of the time will 



THE STRUGGLE ON LONG ISLAND 105 

explain the methods employed by the angry soldiers to 
protect their leader and bring the plotters to justice. 

"Yesterday (23) the mayor was examined twice, and re- 
turned prisoner under a strong guard. We have now 
thirty-four prisoners, and many more it is expected will be 
taken up. A party of our men went over to Long Island 
on Saturday last to take up some of the Tories ; they re- 
turned yesterday, and brought to town one Downing, who 
is charged with being in the hellish plot. They took six 
more prisoners and put them in Jamaica jail, on Long 
Island. The Tories made some resistance, and fired on 
our men in the woods ; our men then returned the fire, 
wounding one man mortally ; they then called for quarter. 

"This forenoon [June 28] was executed in a field be- 
tween the Colonels M'Dougall and Huntington's camp, 
near the Bowry-lane, New York, in the presence of near 
twenty thousand spectators, a soldier belonging to his 
Excellency General Washington's guards, for mutiny and 
conspiracy ; being one of these who formed, and was soon 
to have put in execution, that horrid plot of assassinating 
the staff-officers, blowing up the magazines, and securing 
the passes of the town on the arrival of the hungry minis- 
terial myrmidons. During the execution, Kip, the moon- 
curser, suddenly sank down and expired instantly." 

Lord Howe, upon his arrival July 12th, 1776, — and we 
may be well assured he had no sympathy for the fiendish 
plot in which Tryon and others had been engaged, — moved 
first of all, by his sincere desire for peace, sent a letter to 
Washington in which was a proclamation that promised 
forgiveness to all who would desist from rebellion and "aid 
in restoring tranquillity." This letter he addressed to 
"George Washington, Esq.," not having power or permis- 



106 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

sion to recognize officially that there was such a thing in 
existence as a "Continental Congress," or a commander of 
an army sanctioned by that body. 

In a dignified manner Washington declined to receive 
a letter addressed after that fashion, and insisted that Lord 
Howe, if he wrote as a commander, should also recognize 
him as another. Howe we know was very desirous of 
avoiding bloodshed, and when his messenger returned 
with the word he had received, " that there was in the 
American camp no such individual as George Washington, 
Esq.," he waited a few days, and then sent Colonel Patter- 
son with another letter. This officer was of high rank 
and influence, and it was thought that such a man would 
be received by the American general. Washington did 
permit him to come into his presence, but when the letter 
he carried was seen to be addressed to " George Washing- 
ton, Esq., etc.," again the leader refused to receive it, 
though by the gracious manner in which he received the 
British officer he won that soldier's love and admiration. 

When Howe perceived that his opponent would not 
yield, still hoping to bring about peace without fighting 
for it, he sent the offer of the " pardon " he was author- 
ized to grant, to the loyal governors of the various colo- 
nies ; but unfortunately these gentlemen were in no 
position to scatter his gracious words. Tryon was 
on shipboard, and apparently had no disposition to try to 
land till the redcoats had provided a safe landing-place. 
Other governors had been cast into prison by the angry 
Whigs, and so they, too, were powerless to aid the good 
wishes of the British leader. Congress, however, came to 
the aid of Lord Howe, and of their own accord ordered 
his proclamation to be printed and scattered, and when 



THE STRUGGLE ON LONG ISLAND 107 

the people read it, they looked upon it as simply a huge 
joke, and gave it no serious thought at all. 

When the English admiral and his brother perceived 
that the patriots intended to fight for what they believed 
to be their rights, they too prepared for battle, not dream- 
ing that much of a stand could be made against them. 
All together, including the Hessians whom Lord Howe had 
brought with him, the British forces consisted of more 
than twenty-five thousand men, and greatly outnumbered 
those in Washington's army. Besides, the Continentals 
were poorly equipped and without experience or training, 
and the British soldiers were well known to be the very 
best in the world. 

While Howe had been delaying, and holding forth his 
" olive branch," Washington had been very busy in doing 
the best in his power to strengthen his position, which was 
a very difficult one to hold. Brooklyn Heights seemed to 
be the best place to fortify strongly, and so he had placed 
trusty Nathanael Greene there with nine thousand of the 
troops, and they had been working with desperate zeal 
through the intervening days. 

When Howe at last perceived that the Americans were 
deadly in earnest, he quickly determined to throw the bulk 
of his army against the place Greene had been fortifying, 
for he was as well aware as Washington that if this spot 
could once be occupied he would hold New York in his 
power. Unfortunately, Greene was taken ill, and was 
unable to command the men there in person, and Wash- 
ington, not knowing but that Howe might not after all 
change his plan and fall upon the city instead of attacking 
the Heights, dared not come to the Brooklyn side. Per- 
haps General Howe told the admiral some stories as to 



108 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

the manner in which the " farmers " had behaved at 
Lexington and Bunker Hill, but whether he did or not, 
before the attack on the Americans was begun, he spent 
several days in arranging his plans, and even sent a part 
of the fleet up the Hudson as if he might land a force and 
attack New York, and so kept Washington inside the 
limits. The Americans had sunk some old hulks in the 
Hudson, and tried to make the passage of the river diffi- 
cult, if not impossible; but Howe's ships paid little more 
attention to these things than a great mastiff does to the 
barkings of a tiny terrier. On the 22d of August, 1776, 
General Howe landed twenty thousand of his men at 
Gravesend Bay, and prepared to move upon Putnam and 
Sullivan, who, after the illness of Greene, had been placed 
in command of the American forces on Long Island. 

Before the British departed from Staten Island, how- 
ever, there had been great fear and confusion all along 
the Jersey shore. It was a current rumour that when 
Howe should start for Long Island, the Hessians were to 
cross into New Jersey and fall upon Elizabethtown, Perth 
Amboy, and all the near-by country. Some of the timid 
Whigs are said to have kept their horses and coaches all 
ready before their doors for instant use. Some of the 
boys used to take canoes and float down the bay near to 
the shore of Staten Island, and in the darkness fire upon 
the camp of the Hessians, and then paddle away as fast as 
their arms could make them go. 

One of the British boats got aground off Elizabethtown 
Point, and word having quickly been sent among the men 
and boys of the region, they assembled almost as quickly 
as a crowd gathers to-day, and before the regulars could 
rescue the sloop she had been set on fire. The militia on 



THE STRUGGLE ON LONG ISLAND IOQ 

the Jersey shore were having frequent skirmishes with the 
redcoats and Hessians on Staten Island, and the following 
quotations from letters written at the time will explain the 
character of them: " Last Wednesday noon [10th] a soldier 
belonging to one of the regiments on Staten Island, being 
in liquor, and having wandered from his companions, got 
on the meadows near Elizabethtown Point, which being 
observed by Colonel Smith, who had the command that 
day at the Point, he sent over a party of men who took 
him prisoner." 

" Yesterday nine of our riflemen crossed the river 
[Sound] in order to harass some Regulars who were 
throwing up a kind of breastwork on a bridge for their 
enemies, who kept firing on our men for some time without 
doing any execution, till one of the brave fellows went 
within a few yards of the enemy, and desired them to sur- 
render. At that instant he received a ball through his 
head, which killed him on the spot. The colonel sent over 
a flag of truce to the commanding officer on the island 
desiring leave to bring off his man, which the officer very 
politely agreed to, and let him take man, rifle, and all his 
accoutrements." 

These events were much like ripples on the surface of 
the stream, but they serve to show how the British and 
Hessians passed their time before the battle of Long 
Island. The soldiers, particularly the Hessians, had 
many encounters with the patriotic women left in the 
island, and were doused with hot water, or beaten off with 
broomsticks when they attempted to seize the pigs or 
poultry of the thrifty housewives, who were bold to 
defend their own, although, of course, they were not 
always successful in their attempts. 



110 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

When at last Howe determined upon the attack upon 
the American soldiers on Long Island, the information of 
his departure from Staten Island was conveyed to Wash- 
ington in the following manner, according to the issue of 
the Pennsylvania Journal oi August 28th, 1776: — 

" This night [August 22] we have reason to expect the 
grand attack from our barbarian enemies ; the reasons 
why follow : the night before last a lad went over to 
Staten Island, supped there with a friend, and got safe 
back again without being discovered. Soon after he went 
to General Washington, and upon good authority reported 
that the English army, amounting to fifteen or twenty 
thousand, had embarked, and were ready for an engagement ; 
that some ships of the line and a number of other vessels 
of war were to surround the city and cover their landing ; 
that the Hessians, being fifteen thousand, were to remain 
on the island and attack Perth Amboy, Elizabethtown 
Point, and Bergen, while the main body were doing their 
best at New York ; that the Highlanders expected 
America was already conquered, and that they were only 
to come over and settle on our lands, for which reason they 
had brought their churns, ploughs, etc. ; being deceived 
they had refused fighting, upon which account General 
Howe had shot one, hung five or six, and flogged 
many. . . . There is an abundance of smoke to-day on 
Long Island, our folks having set fire to stacks of hay, etc., 
to prevent the enemy's being benefited in case they got any 
advantage against us. All the troops in New York are in 
high spirits, and have been under arms most of the day, 
as the fleet have been in motion, and are now, as is gener- 
ally thought, only waiting for a change of tide. Forty- 
eight hours or less will determine it as to New York, one 
way or the other." 



THE STRUGGLE ON LONG ISLAND III 

" A few hours " did indeed " determine it," but in a 
manner which, though it did the colonies great good in the 
end, at that time proved to be very like the bitter draught 
a sick man is urged to swallow. It may do good in the 
end, but for the present its " chastening is not joyous, but 
grievous." 

General Washington's army at this time consisted of 
about eighteen thousand men, one-half of the number be- 
ing on Long Island, where all summer long General Greene 
had been working day and night to fortify Brooklyn 
Heights, a position which, if it could be held, would assist 
the Continentals greatly in holding New York. Doubtless 
Washington had no strong hope of holding the city or the 
position, but desperate straits demand desperate means, 
and he was not one to hold back in any crisis. 

Two difficulties increased the American leader's perplex- 
ity, one being his ignorance as to just where Howe would 
strike first. If more of the patriots were withdrawn from 
New York, the British commander might move against 
the city, and if too few were left on Long Island there 
would be no question as to what Howe would do in that 
event. So all that Washington could do was to place 
half his force in each place, and await events. His second 
special difficulty was that he had been compelled by 
Greene's illness to place Putnam in command of the forces 
on Long Island, and though "Old Put" was as brave as 
he was bold, he did not have the cool head and calm judg- 
ment of the young blacksmith-general from Rhode 
Island. 

The problem was soon solved, however, for on August 
22d, twenty thousand of Howe's men were landed at 
Gravesend Bay, from which place four roads extended 



112 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

toward the position held by the Americans. It was in the 
thorough knowledge of these passes or roads that Greene 
possessed, that he greatly excelled the men who succeeded 
him, and probably he would have been able to arrange his 
forces to greater advantage than Putnam did, though that 
even he could have held out against the overwhelming 
numbers of the British was hardly to be expected. 

After the landing of his troops, Howe spent four days 
in perfecting his plans, and in reconnoitring, and then, after 
arranging with his brother, Admiral Howe, to pretend to 
attack New York with his fleet and thereby hold Wash- 
ington there, before sunrise on the twenty-seventh day of 
August, 1776, the advance of the redcoats and their allies 
had been almost perfected. 

Lord Stirling with a small American force was stationed 
on the road nearest the coast, and against him the Scotch 
Highlanders, under the command of the British General 
Grant, were sent. 

The largest part of the advancing army which Howe 
himself led, taking with him such men as Cornwallis and 
Clinton, marched all night long over the Jamaica road to 
gain the rear or flank of the Americans, while the Hessians 
were sent over the Bedford road to attack Sullivan, who 
was stationed there. Most of the Whigs had fled from 
the region, and as the people who remained were for the 
most part extremely bitter Tories, it is no cause for sur- 
prise that the movements of the invading forces were kept 
secret, and were therefore successful. 

Caught between the Hessians and the redcoats, Sulli- 
van's little body of men was soon thrown into confusion, 
and almost all of those who were not killed were made 
prisoners, as was General Sullivan himself. 



THE STRUGGLE ON LONG ISLAND 113 

Stirling for four fearful hours held his own against the 
Highlanders. For "farmers" and "country men" the 
raw soldiers were fighting desperately ; but at last Stirling 
saw that he was almost completely hemmed in by his 
foes, and that his only way of escape was across the Gow- 
anus Creek. It was a forlorn hope for a few to try to 
keep the redcoats at bay, while the others tried to escape, 
but still it was the only hope. Even then the tide in the 
creek was rising rapidly, and soon no one except the expert 
swimmers might hope to make even the attempt. 

Renewing the attack, for twenty minutes the most 
terrible conflict of the entire battle occurred. The young 
fellows of the regiments known as Smallwood's Mary- 
landers and Haslet's Delawares, sons of well-to-do fathers, 
were especially distinguishing themselves for their valour. 
At last they fought their way to the shore of the creek, 
across which many of their comrades had already made 
their way, and though it was claimed at the time that of 
Smallwood's Marylanders two hundred and fifty-nine fell 
in the fearful conflict, still many plunged into the filthy 
waters. Some stuck fast in the mud and were drowned, 
others were shot or captured, and Lord Stirling himself 
became a prisoner. 

Of the numbers who fell in the battle of Long Island, it 
is difficult to write definitely. In the swift ship which Howe 
at once despatched to bear the joyous tidings of his victory 
to the waiting and expectant court of King George, were 
claims that the Americans had lost thirty-three hundred. 
The truth probably was that about one thousand were made 
prisoners and four hundred fell. The British loss was a 
trifle under the latter figure, showing that, although the 
untrained Americans had been defeated, nevertheless they 



114 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

had compelled the victors to pay a price for their 
victory. 

The Americans on Long Island were not all prisoners, 
however, for between seven thousand and eight thousand 
men were now sheltered behind the fortifications on 
Brooklyn Heights, before which the victorious British en- 
camped and rested until the morning of the 28th. 

The battle of Long Island was a defeat for the Ameri- 
cans, and made many sad hearts among the colonists. And 
yet had the Americans won, it would have led to a 
greater defeat afterward, instead of preparing the way for 
victory. As we know, there was a sad lack of harmony, 
to say nothing of union, among the patriot forces. Not 
only were the colonies jealous of one another, but there 
was slight willingness to have any common bond or leader. 

We are told that misery loves company, but whether 
that be true or not, certain it is that the misfortune on 
Long Island drove the contending patriots more closely 
together, made them realize that they must be more will- 
ing to recognize the needs of the whole country, as well 
as the demands of any part, and that out of the discourage- 
ments of the weary days that followed, Washington was 
able to unify his forces as he never had been able to do 
before, nor would he have been able in the pride and arro- 
gance which would certainly have been manifested had 
the American soldiers won the fight. 

A very successful business man declared not long ago 
that he had been taught more by his failures than by his 
successes how to succeed. Certain it is that the defeat 
on Long Island was a blessing in disguise for the strug- 
gling colonies, and though at the time the " disguise " was 
complete, to-day we all can understand it. And it is true 
of many events besides the battle of Long Island. 



CHAPTER XIII 

EVENTS IN AND NEAR NEW YORK 

Washington, although he had scarcely known a mo- 
ment's rest for the previous two nights, had crossed to the 
aid of his men, who were shut in behind the works which 
they had previously erected on Brooklyn Heights. He, 
with all, was uncertain as to what the next move of the 
victorious British would be, and neither he nor his fol- 
lowers were to be free from anxiety for many hours to 
come. 

It has been claimed by some that Washington was eager 
for the redcoats to attempt to storm the Heights, in which 
event he hoped that the lesson of Bunker Hill would be 
reviewed and repeated. Others believed that the Ameri- 
can leader was aware that his men were too nearly ex- 
hausted and disheartened to make a stand against the 
enemy ; but whatever may have been his own feeling or 
fear, all that Howe did was to arrange his troops in the 
form of a semicircle in front of Brooklyn Heights and 
wait, although there were frequent skirmishes during 
the night and day that followed. 

Just why the British general did not act promptly is not 
known to-day. Some of his friends in England, who, since 
they were thousands of miles away from the scene of 
battle, naturally thought they knew all that should be done, 
criticised him very severely for his inactivity, and declared 

i*5 



Il6 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

I 

it was due to the fact that he had eaten too much, as 
he frequently did, and consequently was too sleepy to 
keep an open eye on his wily foe. Others have claimed 
that the failure to act was due to Howe's clemency, 
believing, as he did, that by his victory he had crushed 
the rebellion, and being averse to shedding any more 
blood than was absolutely necessary. 

At all events he did fail to act, and this gave the weary 
Washington the opportunity for which he was watching. 
A period of foggy and rainy weather set in, but his watch- 
ful scouts brought him word that there were some strange 
movements going on in Admiral Howe's fleet, which lay 
out near the Narrows and almost completed the circle 
around Washington and his men. Some believed that 
these movements among the vessels implied that the 
British were attempting to complete this circle and starve 
out the Yankee soldiers by a siege. Others claimed that 
the redcoats were getting ready to fall upon New York 
City itself, which, protected by only half the little Ameri- 
can army, would fall as easily as the men of Stirling and 
Sullivan had been driven by the on-coming Hessians and 
British. 

Either horn of this dilemma was apparently as bad as 
the other, and, so, calling a council of his officers, Washing- 
ton decided that the best thing to do was to evacuate 
Brooklyn Heights, and attempt to cross to New York, 
where at least all his men would be together. Accord- 
ingly, that very night, August 29th, 1776, the crossing was 
made. Colonel Glover, with his hardy fishermen from 
Marblehead and Gloucester, who were a few weeks after- 
ward to play such a conspicuous and daring part in the 
battle of Trenton, collected all the boats of every kind and 



EVENTS IN AND NEAR NEW YORK 117 

description that could be found, and ferried the army 
across to the New York shore. The fog favoured them, 
but why they were not discovered is one of the mysteries 
of history. 

At last, before the dawn of the day, all the men, horses, 
guns, ammunition, and supplies had been safely trans- 
ported ; and when the British finally were awake to what 
was going on, it was only to behold the last row of skiffs 
safe beyond the range of their pistols or guns. It was a 
marvellous feat, and all the more to be wondered at because 
Washington and his followers were almost exhausted. But 
it was his opportunity, and when it came the great Ameri- 
can seized it, and thereby disclosed the true secret of his 
greatness ; for the difference between men is not in the 
lack of opportunities, but in the failure to recognize them. 

It is said that a Mrs. Rapelje, an ardent Tory woman, 
dwelling near the foot of Fulton Street, from which the 
crossing was made, discovering what the Americans were 
doing, sent one of her negroes with the information for the 
British leader ; but the black man met a Hessian officer, 
who could not understand a word that was said, and so the 
slumbers of Howe were not broken before the morning 
dawned. The Americans were in New York, though they 
could hardly be called " safe," and the British held the 
empty earthworks on Brooklyn Heights. Whatever 
chagrin Howe might have felt, he was justly elated over 
the success of the recent battle (fox which, a few weeks 
afterward, he was knighted); but he still had a very sin- 
cere desire for peace, and not dreaming that after such a 
loss as the Americans had sustained they would seriously 
think of continuing the war, or the " rebellion," as he 
called it, he sent Sullivan, who was now his prisoner, to 



Il8 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Congress with the implied promise that he [Howe] would 
probably be able to influence Parliament to grant the 
requests of the colonies for the repeal of the laws against 
which they had rebelled. But he wanted first that a com- 
mittee of three should be appointed to confer with him. 

The proposal aroused very strong feelings among the 
members of Congress, some denouncing both Howe, who 
had made the proposition, and Sullivan, who had brought 
it. As if Sullivan could have done otherwise ! Others 
were far more suspicious than were the Trojans of the 
horse the Greeks had left for them, and still others thought 
no harm could come from a conference with the British 
general. Against the better judgment of some of the 
leaders, John Adams, Franklin, and Rutledge were ap- 
pointed as such a committee, and a conference with Howe 
was held. The result of it, however, was only to show 
Lord Howe how determined the Americans had become, 
not only to have just laws but also a country of their own, 
and that he could not hope to win them back to King 
George without a desperate struggle. The " olive branch " 
he had brought across the sea had failed to accomplish the 
result he had sincerely hoped to gain. 

Washington and his little army were safe now in New 
York, it is true, but how long they would remain so was a 
question. Howe had issued a proclamation in which he 
not only called upon all loyal subjects of King George 
now to show their loyalty, but also promised forgiveness 
for all others who would return. Perhaps it is not surpris- 
ing that many availed themselves of his offer ; but Con- 
gress, on the other hand, also provided an oath of allegiance 
to which the stronger Whigs readily subscribed, though as 
many of them took their families and followed the patriot 



EVENTS IN AND NEAR NEW YORK 119 

army, their patriotism in many ways only served to in- 
crease the problems of the great leaders. 

The city being on an island presented the very best of 
opportunities for the British, having, as they did, both a 
fleet and an army to fall upon it. The Americans had 
erected a number of defences along the shore, but these 
were not of a kind to afford much help in case of an attack ; 
and when Washington called a council of his officers, a 
majority of them agreed with him that the only safe 
course to follow was to evacuate the city. The stores and 
the sick and wounded soldiers were sent into New Jersey. 
General Putnam was left in the city, with four thousand 
men, as a rear-guard, and then Washington with the main 
body withdrew to the banks of the Harlem River. 

It was during this time that two events occurred that 
have been almost ignored in our records of the struggle. 
One was the attempt of Ezra Lee to blow up the Eagle, 
Admiral Howe's flagship, which was anchored off the 
shore of Governor's Island. A young mechanic named 
Bushnell, of Connecticut, had invented what he called a 
" marine turtle," by which he was confident that a daring 
man could move under the water, approach the hull of a 
ship, and by fastening his contrivance to the bottom, and 
arranging the clock-work of the r turtle," have ample time 
to escape himself before the explosion followed, which it 
was confidently believed would blow the largest man-of-war 
into flinders. 

The plan was approved, and daring Ezra Lee was se- 
lected to make the attempt. At midnight, on the 6th of 
September, he entered the machine, left the dock at the 
foot of Whitehall, and started on his perilous venture. 
Washington and several of his officers who were in the 



120 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

secret waited all night long on the dock for the outcome 
of the attempt, no one of them being hopeful of success, 
and as the gray of the dawn appeared not even daring to 
believe that young Ezra would ever be seen again. 

Just at that time, however, suddenly a column of water 
was thrown into the air near the dim outline of the Eagle, 
and it was apparent that there was a great commotion both 
on board the flagship and on the near-by shore. No 
great damage had been done, that was evident, but what 
had become of Ezra Lee ? For a long time the American 
officers waited, and just as they were about to go back to 
their men, satisfied that the attempt had failed and that 
the young man was drowned, he was discovered in the 
water near the dock. Friendly hands speedily drew him 
forth, and warm were the words of praise bestowed upon 
him by all. The attempt had indeed failed, for the 
bottom of the flagship had been covered with copper. It 
had been impossible to find a place to which the turtle 
could be fastened. Ezra Lee's spirit and daring had 
appealed to Washington so strongly, however, that he was 
chosen by the commander as one of his most trusty scouts, 
and had an active part afterward in the battles of 
Trenton, Brandywine, and Monmouth. 

The other event was the hanging of Nathan Hale. 
Washington, as we know, at this time had been in great 
perplexity as to what the next movements of the British 
would be, and after consulting with his officers it was de- 
cided that some trusty man must be sent as a spy to Long 
Island to learn of the movements and plans of the British 
army. 

Colonel Knowlton, whose regiment was known as 
" Congress's Own," and was composed of very sterling 



EVENTS IN AND NEAR NEW YORK 121 

men, was directed to select some suitable man for the 
task, and his choice fell upon young Captain Nathan 
Hale of Connecticut, who, provided with passes and letters 
by Washington that would be helpful among all the armed 
vessels of the Americans, soon afterward crossed to Long 
Island, where he made many notes and sketches, and then 
prepared to recross the Sound to his friends. But as the 
old story runs, he was recognized by a relative who was a 
very bitter Tory, and at once was turned over to General 
Howe. Without even the form of a trial he was sent to 
Cunningham, the provost marshal, a man whose deeds 
within the next few years were to make him one of the 
most justly detested men in our history, with orders for 
his execution. 

Even at this time Cunningham showed his true nature, 
for he even refused young Hale permission to read his 
Bible or have a word with a clergyman before his death. 
Even the tender letters he had, by permission of Howe, 
written his mother were destroyed, and Nathan Hale was 
speedily hanged from an apple tree in an orchard that 
grew near to the present East Broadway. The last words 
of the brave young martyr were, " I only regret that I 
have but one life to give for my country." 

The tragic death of Nathan Hale created a feeling of in- 
tense anger among the Continentals. The brutality and 
cold-blooded cruelty that attended it increased the fear of 
the wavering, and strengthened the determination of those 
who already were committed to the cause of the new 
nation. 

Our forefathers were very fond of songs, and frequently 
went into battle with a song on their lips ; and many a 
camp-fire was enlivened with the rude, stirring words of 



122 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

a poet-soldier. Nathan Hale's death naturally provided a 
theme of interest, and it may serve to show both the feel- 
ings of the time and the rude attempt of the " poets " to 
express the sentiments of their fellows if we quote the 
following war-song, written in 1776, by some writer whose 
name is unknown. 

Nathan Hale — A Ballad 

The breezes went steadily thro 1 the tall pines, 

A saying " Oh ! hu-ush," a saying " Oh ! hu-ush ! ■ 

As stilly stole by a bold legion of horse 
For Hale in the bush, for Hale in the bush. 

" Keep still ! " said the thrush, as she nestled her young, 

In a nest by the road, in a nest by the road. 
" For the tyrants are near, and with them appear, 

What bodes us no good, what bodes us no good." 

The brave captain heard it, and thought of his home 

In a cot by the brook ; in a cot by the brook, 
With mother and sisters and memories dear, 

He so gaily forsook ; he so gaily forsook. 

Cooling shades of the night were coming apace, 

The tattoo had beat ; the tattoo had beat, 
The noble one sprang from his dark lurking place 

To make his retreat ; to make his retreat. 

He warily trod on the dry rustling leaves 

As he passed thro' the woods ; as he passed thro 1 the woods ; 
And silently gained his rude launch on the shore, 

As she played with the flood ; as she played with the flood. 

The guards of the camp on that dark dreary night, 

Had a murderous will ; had a murderous will, 
They took him and bore him afar from the shore 

To a hut on the hill ; to a hut on the hill. 

No mother was there, not a friend who could cheer 
In that little stone cell ; in that little stone cell. 



EVENTS IN AND NEAR NEW YORK 1 23 

But he trusted in love from his father above, 

In his heart all was well ; in his heart all was well. 

An ominous owl with his solemn bass voice 
Sat moaning hard by ; sat moaning hard by ; 

" The tyrant's proud minions most gladly rejoice, 
For he must soon die ; for he must soon die." 

The brave fellow told them, no thing he restrained, 

The cruel gen'ral ; the cruel gen'ral, 
His errand from camp, of the end to be gained, 

And said that was all ; and said that was all. 

They took him and bound him and bore him away, 

Down the hill's grassy side ; down the hill's grassy side, 

'Twas there the base hirelings, in royal array, 
His cause did deride ; his cause did deride. 

Five minutes were given, short moments, no more, 

For him to repent ; for him to repent ; 
He prayed for his mother, he asked not another, 

To Heaven he went ; to Heaven he went. 

The faith of a martyr, the trajedy shewed, 

As he trod the last stage ; as he trod the last stage, 

And Britons will shudder at gallant Hale's blood, 
As his words do presage, as his words do presage. 

" Thou pale King of terrors, thou life's gloomy foe, 
Go frighten the slave ; go frighten the slave ; 

Tell tyrants, to you their allegiance they owe, 
No fears for the brave ; no fears for the brave." 

The Americans had meanwhile been working with des- 
perate zeal to strengthen their fortifications in and about 
the city of New York. New entrenchments were dug, 
hulks of old and useless vessels were sunk in the Hudson ; 
but all their efforts could avail but little against the fear- 
ful odds with which they were contending. Many of the 
men were still in great terror of the scarlet-clad British 



124 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

soldiers, whom they had been taught from their earliest 
boyhood to look upon as the greatest fighters in all the 
world ; their own equipment was sadly incomplete ; the 
time for. which many had enlisted had very nearly ex- 
pired ; and all together it is not strange that the f eeling of 
gloom and depression almost deprived Washington of any 
such thing as a trusty or reliable force. 

Howe first sent ten of his battle-ships up the Hudson to 
a point where their fire could rake the city. Among these 
ships was the Asia, carrying sixty-four guns, and hated by 
the Americans, for the actions of its officers and crew, as 
was almost no other British vessel. The Yankee Captain 
Talbot, inspired with a desire to damage not only the 
enemy, but this particular ship, set forth in a fire-ship 
from Fort Washington, and succeeded in making his way 
to the side of the Asia with his own boat in flames ; but 
though he greatly frightened the men on the ship, they 
managed to escape from their peril, and Captain Talbot 
himself, badly burned, was glad to escape to the Jersey 
shore with his life. 

While the ten ships were pouring their fire into the city, 
Sir Henry Clinton landed about four thousand men at the 
foot of what is now East 34th Street, while another divi- 
sion, chiefly Hessians, landed a little way above the same 
place. The brigades of Parsons and Fellows, consisting 
mostly of New England men, were sent to dispute the 
landing of the enemy; but to the consternation of their 
officers, the men became terrified, and fled without even 
attempting to make a stand, when the first fifty of the red- 
coats reached the shore. Bunker Hill and Lexington 
were forgotten, and only Long Island remembered, when 
the sight of the brilliant uniforms increased the alarm 



EVENTS IN AND NEAR NEW YORK 1 25 

which the fire of the great guns of the fleet in the Hud- 
son had already aroused. The officers begged and threat- 
ened, but the frightened men would not listen ; and not 
even when Washington himself, who had heard at Harlem 
the sound of the cannon, and had ridden swiftly to the 
landing-place, added his words and presence, would they 
stop in their flight. It is said, in his despair at their cow- 
ardice, that the great leader grasped his sword, drove his 
spurs into the flanks of the horse he was riding, and started 
swiftly toward the enemy, hoping to meet death, and find 
release from the hopelessness which apparently had seized 
him. One of his aids, however, grasped the bridle and 
checked the horse, and in a moment Washington was 
himself again. 

With the landing of these forces, Howe might easily 
have cut off the retreat of General Putnam, who was do- 
ing his utmost to withdraw, and join his comrades on the 
banks of the Harlem, and the reason he did not succeed 
was due in part to what Howe's own countrymen declared 
to be his weakness, his " over-eating " as they termed it, 
and also to the quick wit of a woman, Mistress Murray. 
She, well aware of Putnam's predicament, prepared a 
tempting luncheon, and upon her urgent invitation Gen- 
eral Howe, together with Sir Henry Clinton and a few 
others, stopped at her home to partake of it; but when 
they arose from the table the American general and his 
men were safe, having joined their companions and lost 
but a few men in the flight. With the withdrawal of the 
Americans from New York, in September, 1776, they 
were not again to hold that city until the long war was 
ended, more than seven years after this time. 

On the following day, September 16th, 1776, there was 



126 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

a sharp skirmish between parts of the forces, which has 
since been known as the battle of Harlem, in which the 
Americans lost about sixty, while their enemies suffered 
much more severely. It was in this engagement that 
Colonel Knowlton of the Connecticut Rangers, to which 
Nathan Hale belonged, fell, and so did Major Leitch of 
Virginia. Had these men lived, it is more than likely that 
their names would have been as famous as those of many 
of the leaders, for they were brave men and true ; but 
death ended their labours, though it should not prevent us 
from still honouring their memory. 

The British now had their ships of war in both rivers, — 
the Hudson and the Harlem, — they held the city, and 
many began to think that now they would go into winter 
quarters in the best town in the New World. The Ameri- 
cans were on Harlem Heights, and there was no fear of 
their attacking ; and the place they held, in the memory 
of Bunker Hill, was almost too strong to be attacked. 

But just at this time there was a terrible fire in New 
York. Before dawn, in the morning of September 21st, 
with a strong wind blowing from the southwest, it broke 
out in a low groggery near the foot of the town, and before it 
was stopped 493 buildings had been destroyed. Churches, 
houses, places of business had disappeared, and the vic- 
torious British declared that the Americans had set fire to 
the town rather than have it fall into the hands of their con- 
querors. This report was untrue, but perhaps that, together 
with several other reasons, after four weeks had passed, 
led Howe to decide to attempt to gain the rear of Wash- 
ington's little army, and so cut them off from all hope of a 
retreat, and compel an immediate surrender, and bring the 
war to a speedy end. 



EVENTS IN AND NEAR NEW YORK 1 27 

Boats, as has been said, were in each of the two rivers. 
A large force of Hessians and British was in the city, 
under the command of Lord Percy. So Howe, with the 
rest of his army, on ninety great flatboats, passed down 
through the frightful waters of Hell Gate and landed at 
Throg's Neck, eighteen miles from the city, from which 
place he hoped to march rapidly across the intervening 
country and gain the rear of Washington's army before 
the "rebel" leader could learn of his design. 

But the American commander was well aware of the 
movement, and at once sent men to oppose, if they could 
not prevent, Howe's landing. Other troops had now joined 
Howe, and though there was constant skirmishing between 
the contending forces, the Americans were not able to 
drive the redcoats back. 

To prevent Howe from gaining his rear, Washington 
soon decided to move his army still farther from the city ; 
and after leaving what was thought to be a force strong 
enough to hold Fort Washington, at least for the present, 
in four divisions, led respectively by Lee, Heath, Sullivan, 
and Lincoln, the little American army moved slowly ; and 
at last, behind rudely constructed entrenchments that ex- 
tended for thirteen miles from Fordham to White Plains, 
it stretched out in front of the British army. General 
Greene with his men was now at Fort Lee in New Jersey, 
almost opposite Fort Washington ; and therefore, with the 
forts on each side of the river held by his own men, and 
confident that Howe could not cut off the troops that 
were with him, perhaps Washington believed that the end 
had proved not to be so very bad after all. 

For a time nothing but skirmishes occurred. The 
Americans were satisfied to hold their earthworks, and 



128 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

many of the Hessian and British soldiers were apparently 
well content to frighten the people of the region and 
spend much of their time in plundering. Few parts of 
the country suffered during the Revolution as did the 
region in which were the two armies at this time, and { 
many are the stories related of the brutality of the soldiers, 
the bravery of the women and boys left at home, and the 
personal adventures of Whigs and Tories. 

One story may illustrate the character of the life in the 
region at this time. A widow living with her only boy, 
a lad of twelve years, found that the vegetables in her 
garden were being taken. The lad resolved to watch one 
night, and so took his place in a dark spot near the garden. 
His loaded gun was in his hands, and for a while he had 
no difficulty in remaining awake. After a time, when the 
novelty of his duty was gone, and he was beginning to 
feel sleepy, he suddenly discovered some man filling a 
huge bag with the fruits of the garden. Stepping softly, 
the boy approached, and presenting his loaded gun at the 
soldier's rear, ordered him to keep the heavy bag and 
march before him. Death would be the consequence of 
any attempt to turn aside or drop the bag. There was 
nothing to be done but obey ; so the huge Highlander, 
for such the soldier proved to be, was marched to the 
American camp and given over by the proud young captor 
as a prisoner of war. Slight cause for wonder is it that 
the captive grenadier, when at last he ventured to turn his 
head and perceived who his captor was, should have ex- 
claimed in disgust : " A British grenadier made a prisoner 
by a brat ! Such a brat ! " 

Men who attempted to visit their homes or families in 
this region were watched, and in numberless cases hanged 



EVENTS IN AND NEAR NEW YORK 1 29 

or shot before the very eyes of their children. One man 
who had ventured to return to his home was traced, and, 
just as the Tories, who were even more bitter than the 
regulars, were about to break into the house, after the 
demand for his surrender had been refused, was concealed 
by his frantic wife in a heap of ashes, and breathing 
through a long goose quill, even his face being covered, in 
this manner escaped from his pursuers. Not all of the 
murdering and plundering was done by the men of one 
side, but the terror that possessed the region at the time is 
one of the best commentaries on the horrors of war in any 
place or period. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE FLIGHT ACROSS THE JERSEYS 

When Howe at last perceived that he would be unable 
to gain the rear of Washington's straggling army, he 
decided to attack it, and on October 28th, 1776, after 
a hard struggle, the invaders succeeded in gaining a part 
of Chatterton Hill, on which a strong body of the Ameri- 
cans had been posted, although the redcoats lost nearly 
three hundred men in the fight. 

Once more Howe hesitated about following up his 
advantage in this engagement, which in our histories has 
been called " the battle of White Plains," but sent back to 
New York for Percy and reinforcements. On the evening 
of the 30th Percy and the additional redcoats came, and 
the plan was formed to move upon the position held by the 
patriots the following morning; but in the night a fierce 
storm arose, and Washington, quick to seize the oppor- 
tunity, and well aware that he had now more to gain by 
drawing his enemy on than he had by meeting him in 
open battle, in the darkness withdrew to North Castle, 
where Howe perceived that it would be a very hazardous 
matter to attack him. 

Accordingly, the British commander decided to change 
his plan, and marched for the bank of the Hudson. For 
a brief time Washington did not know whether Howe was 
planning to attack the two forts there, or to start across 

130 



THE FLIGHT ACROSS THE JERSEYS 131 

New Jersey for Philadelphia. There was little to be 
gained in seizing that town except in the moral effect 
of capturing " the capital " ; but the capital of such a 
nation as the United States then was, was a shifting matter, 
and to move from one town to another required no very 
great effort. However, Washington was soon to learn, 
and to his sorrow, that Howe had designs both on the two 
forts, Washington and Lee, and on " the capital " as 
well. 

After a council of war was held, it was agreed by all that 
the best thing for the army to do was to cross over into 
New Jersey, at least for the greater part to do this, while 
General Heath was to be left with a force in the High- 
lands, to prevent any advance from Canada ; and General 
Lee was to be left at North Castle with six thousand or 
more men, who were to be ready to come to Washington's 
aid at any time when he might require their assistance. 
Lee was now the successor of General Ward, and some- 
how almost all the men in the colonies believed in him, 
though to-day we know that he was even a greater traitor 
than Benedict Arnold proved to be. He had fought in 
Europe, and to the people of the colonies that fact very 
naturally meant much. He was a man of marked elo- 
quence, and his persuasive tongue was seldom at rest ; 
and besides, he had just come from the South, after having 
won a very decided victory there ; or at least he was given 
the credit of having won it, though in reality he had very 
little to do with it. 

By the middle of November ; Howe was well informed of 
the true state of affairs in Fort Washington, his own 
scouts having learned much, and a deserter from Colonel 
Magraw's men having given him more. In spite of 



132 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Washington's plan to abandon the fort, Congress, believ- 
ing in its own wisdom, had sent a message to hold the 
place, and somehow Greene seems to have had that same 
opinion. At all events, it was decided in Washington's 
absence, — for he had gone up the Hudson to supervise 
some work there, — to make the attempt. And when, on 
November 16th, 1776, Howe, after having completely 
invested the place by land and water, sent a messenger 
demanding the immediate surrender of the garrison, 
although his own men were outnumbered by the attack- 
ing force nearly five to one, sturdy Colonel Magraw sent 
back a reply that " if Howe wanted the place, his best 
plan would be to come and take it ! " 

General Howe had probably a sincere desire to avoid 
bloodshed, and knew he would be easily able to capture the 
stronghold, but he had foolishly made a threat that if his 
demand was not complied with, no quarter would be given ; 
and this threat, added to the decision which already had 
been made to hold the place, only seemed to increase the 
anger and zeal of the little garrison hardly numbering more 
than three thousand men. 

The fight that followed was a terrible one. The Ameri- 
cans fought with the courage of despair, but bayonets and 
numbers were too great for them to withstand, and at last, 
when more than five hundred of the British forces had been 
killed or wounded and the Americans, though they had lost 
but one hundred and fifty, were simply overpowered, the 
word to surrender was given. Even then, the infuriated 
Hessians fell upon the defenceless garrison, and bayo- 
neted many of the helpless soldiers, a sight that caused 
Washington, who now had returned and was watching 
the battle from Fort Lee, to weep and sob like a heart- 



THE FLIGHT ACROSS THE JERSEYS 1 33 

broken child. Nearly three thousand American prison- 
ers, by the surrender of Fort Washington, were added to 
the numbers the British now held in New York, and great 
quantities of ammunition and stores, next in value to the 
soldiers themselves, also fell into the hands of the victors. 

Washington now knew that the enemy without doubt 
would cross into New Jersey, and so he instantly sent 
word to Lee at North Castle to join him with his six 
thousand or more men, but Lee did not come. Fort Lee, 
in the confusion and fear, was guarded only on three sides, 
the northern side having been left unprotected, as no one 
of the Americans believed an attack need be feared from 
that direction. Howe must have known of this neglect, for 
in the night-time he sent Lord Cornwallis with a force of 
five thousand men up the river to a landing-place above 
the fort, and suddenly and unexpectedly, on the morning 
of November 19th, this division appeared on the northern 
side of Fort Lee. 

Washington was not there in person, though he was but 
a few miles away; but the sight of the redcoats threw the 
startled Americans into a panic. Without stopping even 
to eat their breakfast, leaving even their cooking utensils 
on the fires, abandoning tents, baggage, much of their am- 
munition and arms, the army, if such it might still be called, 
fled like a frightened mob. 

Something like order was at last obtained, and the heavy- 
hearted Washington began what has become known as the 
retreat across the Jerseys. And surely he had a right to 
have a heavy heart. More of his men were prisoners in 
New York than he had with him on his march. Defeat 
had followed defeat, loss had followed loss, and it almost 
seemed as if the proud boast of the British that the rebel- 



134 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

lion was at an end, was only too true ; and it is even said 
that the great leader himself talked over plans by which, in 
the event of the complete rout of his followers, he and a few 
of his friends might find a hiding-place, in the vast wilder- 
ness beyond the Alleghanies. 

To make matters worse, the victorious British were in 
close pursuit, so close that it is said that when the rear-guard 
of the Americans marched out from Newark they could hear 
the fifes and drums of the approaching redcoats. The 
people of the region were demoralized, some who had 
been friendly to the colonies coming out now boldly on the 
side of King George, and others with their families and a 
small part of their possessions having fled, terrified by ru- 
mours of what the redcoats and " Dutch butchers " would 
do. One poor young mother forsaken by her family lifted 
a board in the kitchen floor of her home and hid her baby 
beneath it, while she sought safety in the loft of the barn. 
Probably she thought, in her terror, that Lord Cornwallis 
and all his redcoats wanted that baby of hers. But her 
fear was only a sample of that which existed on every side. 

The British leaders now took it upon themselves to offer 
a pardon to all who, within sixty days, should " appear be- 
fore the governor or any other officer in his Majesty's ser- 
vice " and claim the benefit of the proclamation that had 
been sent throughout New Jersey. Many of the more 
timid ones submitted, but the spirit of all was not crushed. 
In reply to Howe's proclamation a counter response was 
scattered by some of the more hardy friends of indepen- 
dence, the spirit of which may be seen by the following 
quotations : — 

" Messrs. Howe : We have seen your proclamation and 
as it is a great curiosity think it deserves some notice, 







JOSEPH BRANT-THAYENDANEGEA 
The Great Captain of the Six Nations 






THE FLIGHT ACROSS THE JERSEYS '1 35 

and lest no one else should deign to notice it, will make 
a few remarks upon what was designed for public benefit. 
In this rarity we see slaves offering liberty to free Ameri- 
cans ; thieves and robbers offer to secure our rights and 
property; murderers offer us pardon; a perjured tyrant 
by the mouths of two of his hireling butchers 'commands' 
all the civil and military powers, in these independent 
states to resign all pretensions to authority, and to acknow- 
ledge subjection to a foreign despot, even his mock maj- 
esty, now reeking with blood and murder. This is truly 
a curiosity, and is a compound of the most consummate 
arrogance and folly of the cloven-footed spawn of despair- 
ing wretches, who are labouring to complete the works of 
tyranny and death. It would be far less wicked and not 
quite so stupid for the Grand Turk to send two of his 
slaves into Britain to command all Britons to acknowledge 
themselves slaves of the Turk, offering to secure their 
rights and property, and to pardon such as had borne 
arms against his Sublime Highness, upon condition of 
their making peace within ' sixty days.' 

" Messieurs Howe and W. Howe, pray read your procla- 
mation once more, and consider how modest you appear ; 
and reflect on the infinite contempt with which you are 
viewed by the Americans, and remember the meanest free- 
man scorns the highest slave." 

The bombastic counter proclamation goes on to refer 
to all that America was doing and was going to do, but 
it is evident after all that it was written by some one who 
was whistling to keep up his own courage and that of some 
of his faint-hearted friends. 

On the other hand, Tory writers came forth with their 
printed words which were scattered broadcast. The fol- 



I3( HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

lowing is one of the forms in which they seemed to find 
particular delight. The effusion was signed " Britannicus," 
and first appeared in one of the New Jersey Tory papers 
in December, 1776. 

A FABLE 

"There was a large forest inhabited by a few sheep. In 
the neighbourhood was a nation of mastiff dogs, another 
of foxes, another of wolves, and another of boars. The 
sheep were protected by the dogs till they increased to 
a great multitude. After a bloody war, in which they 
were saved by the dogs from both the foxes and the 
wolves, the sheep imagined themselves to be a very 
mighty people, and some old stinking rams told them it 
was not proper that the dogs should any longer rule over 
them. The dogs had bit them, they said, and intended to 
bite them more severely. And so the sheep proclaimed 
themselves a commonwealth of free people. Yet while 
they complained how the dogs had oppressed them, they 
boasted with the same breath, that so greatly had they 
prospered, that in twelve years they were become a match 
for the world ; though it was evident that before that time 
they could not depend on themselves against the foxes 
only. The dogs, upon this, resolved to bring them back 
to obedience; but the sheep implored the foxes, the wolves, 
and the boars to attack the dogs, which they gladly per- 
formed ; and while the best mastiffs were in the country 
of the sheep, these different tribes so violently attacked 
their old formidable enemies, the dogs, that they utterly 
broke their strength, and ruined them as a people. But the 
sheep did not long boast of their profound politics ; the 
foxes, the wolves, and the b^ars poured in upon them, 



THE FLIGHT ACROSS THE JERSEYS 137 

and soon rendered them the most abject and miserable of 
all animals. 

" The moral is this : The Americans are, in reality, as 
defenceless as sheep ; it is impossible they can, for several 
centuries, constitute an empire ; they want many requi- 
sites. The English are generous, brave mastiffs; the 
French have always been sly, ravenous foxes; the Span- 
iards, cruel wolves, when they conquer; and the Dutch- 
men wild boars, wherever they can effect a settlement. 
Amboyna and all their settlements witness this. But 
though, for the fable's sake, I suppose the conquest of 
the mastiffs, I trust that event is yet very distant ; and 
that half a million of determined fighting sheep, with all 
their ingratitude (a circumstance infinitely more to be 
feared than the strength of their horns), will never effect 
so unworthy a purpose. And let me add, there is a cir- 
cumstance in the natural history of the sheep which 
greatly resembles American courage. When you go near 
a flock of sheep, a few will at first run, then the whole 
body of them will draw up in a line like soldiers, will 
watch your motions, will seem as if they felt vastly bold, 
ay, and will stamp their feet on the ground in a menac- 
ing manner ; but let a mastiff walk up to them, and half 
a million of these determined threateners will instantly 
take to their heels and fly off in the greatest fear and 
confusion." 

In spite of proclamation and counter proclamation, fable 
and invective, Washington and his army were hastening 
across New Jersey. Word of the coming of the British 
army had already reached Philadelphia, and the fear in 
that city was great. Every day men dropped from the 
ranks of the patriot army and fled ; still the great leader 



138 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

and his few faithful followers kept on. Homesick, forlorn, 
hungry, fearful, wretched, — it was a band, the thought of 
which ought to make complaints to-day seldom to be 
heard. 

At New Brunswick, Washington burned the bridge across 
the Raritan, and then, after a brief delay, kept on his way 
toward the Delaware. Soon not more than three thousand 
men remained with the leader, though at last Lee had 
entered New Jersey and had advanced to Morristown. But 
he still did not join Washington as he had been ordered to do. 

Across the Delaware at last Washington and his ragged 
straggling force made their way, all the near-by boats on 
the river were seized, and a brief breathing-space was 
given the army. Meanwhile Lee himself had been made 
a prisoner. Stopping as he did apart from his soldiers, a 
Tory learned of his custom, and informing the redcoats of 
his presence led the way ; and on the morning of Decem- 
ber 1 3th they surprised the recreant officer before breakfast 
and bore him away a prisoner, clad only in his night- 
clothes. The cowardly Lee, afraid for his life, begged 
piteously for mercy, and his captors took great delight in 
letting him know he could be tried and hanged as a de- 
serter from the ranks of King George's army. Of course 
they had no such design, but it was rare sport to torment 
their whining, cowardly prisoner. 

The loss of Lee at the time was thought to be another 
great blow to the colonies. General Sullivan, who had 
previously been exchanged, was placed in command of the 
American troops at Morristown, and he at once with his 
men set forth to join Washington. But the capture of 
Lee proved to be a blessing in disguise to the desperate 
American and his men on the farther bank of the Delaware. 



CHAPTER XV 

TRENTON AND PRINCETON 

Something must be done, and at once, or the cause was 
lost forever; and Washington was equal to the emergency. 
In their confidence that the end of the war had come, many 
of the British soldiers had returned from the march to New 
York. Some were sent to Newport, and Cornwallis him- 
self was expecting to sail for home within a few days. 
Upon the Hessians was left largely the responsibility for 
completing the few duties that yet remained, while the 
remnant of the American army was still clinging together. 
The numbers had indeed been slightly increased by the 
arrival of the troops of Sullivan and Gates, but all together 
the great commander did not have more than six thou- 
sand men. 

Washington's plan was to fall upon the Hessian forces 
at three different places at the same time. At Burlington 
where Count Dunop had two thousand men, General Gates 
was to strike ; General Ewing was to cross the Delaware 
opposite Trenton, and attack the town ; and at the same 
time Washington, Greene, Sullivan, Knox, and others were 
to cross the river about nine miles above Trenton and 
advance upon the place from the northern side. 

Troubles are said never to come singly, and the great 
heart of Washington must have been almost ready to de- 
spair, when the little dandy, Gates, begged off on the plea 

139 



140 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

of illness and started for Baltimore, whither Congress had 
gone because of the fear that Philadelphia would speedily 
be in the hands of the redcoats. In addition to the depar- 
ture of Gates, Cadwalader, who took his place, was not able 
to get his force across the river, which was filled with float- 
ing ice, and Ewing also failed to perform the task which 
had been assigned to him. 

Still determined, Washington kept on. Christmas Eve 
was the night he had selected, because he rightly believed 
the Hessians in Trenton would be engaged in their own 
carousals in celebration of the day, and the British light- 
horse in the town could be overcome. At sunset, when 
the leader and his force of twenty-four hundred men ar- 
rived at the place where the crossing was to be made, it 
did not seem possible that the little band could gain the 
opposite shore. The wind and storm were severe, and 
great blocks of ice were borne swiftly down the river by 
the strong current ; but Glover and his hardy fishermen, 
who had so successfully ferried the army across from 
Brooklyn after the battle of Long Island, were equal to 
the present emergency. For ten long hours the boats 
made their way back and forth across the river, Washing- 
ton standing all the time upon the bank watching the 
crossing, and apparently unmindful of the wind and storm ; 
and at last all were safe on the Jersey shore. Still nine 
miles remained between the advancing army and Trenton, 
and the march must be made over half-frozen roads and in 
the face of a blinding storm of snow and sleet. The men 
were drenched, their guns wet, their scanty clothing was 
stiff with ice, their shoeless feet left bloody footprints on 
the snow ; but on they moved, for something of the lion- 
heart of the leader had imparted itself to all his followers. 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON I4I 

Meanwhile, Washington had not been mistaken in sup- 
posing that the Hessians, unsuspicious of peril, would be 
spending the hours in a carousal. Many of the British 
light-horse were off on foraging or pillaging expeditions, 
and the Germans were making night hideous with their 
songs and shouts and drinking bouts. Colonel Rail him- 
self, the commander of the Hessians, was spending the 
night in the home of Abraham Hunt, a man who had deal- 
ings with both sides, and was true to neither. 

On this particular night, Hunt had invited Colonel Rail 
and a few others to a "Christmas supper" at his house, 
and far into the night the unsuspecting officers continued 
their card-playing and drinking. Colonel Rail was about 
to "deal," when his negro servant, against express orders, 
entered the room, and thrust a note into the Hessian's 
hand, explaining that the man who had brought it had first 
begged to be permitted to enter himself, but had been 
refused, and that then he had written the note and de- 
clared that Colonel Rail must have it immediately, as it 
was of the very highest importance. If the colonel had 
known that the note was a word brought by a Tory who 
had discovered the presence of the advancing American 
army, it is more than likely that the history of the Revo- 
lution would have been far different from what it was. 
However, Colonel Rail did not stop his game, but thrust 
the note unread into his pocket, and so never knew of 
Washington's approach until it was too late to act. Many 
of the greatest events in history have turned upon a pivot 
no larger than the negligence of the Hessian colonel. 

Meanwhile, the little American force was steadily ap- 
proaching in two divisions ; one led by Sullivan along the 
lower road, and the other led by Greene on the upper road. 



142 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

With their bayonets the Americans drove back the startled 
outposts, and in a brief time the cannon had been so 
planted that the streets could be swept. 

Colonel Rail, who at last had realized the peril, and 
rushed forth from Hunt's house to rally his men, together 
with sixteen others, had been shot ; and almost a thousand 
of the hired Hessians were speedily prisoners in the hands 
of the victorious Americans. 

On the following day Cadwalader, chagrined when he 
learned that Washington had crossed the Delaware in 
spite of the storm, and gained a victory at Trenton, at 
once crossed to Bordentown. But Count Dunop and his 
Hessians had fled to Princeton, Brunswick, and Amboy; 
for they, too, had heard of what the American com- 
mander had accomplished at Trenton, and they had no 
mind to be treated after the same fashion. Four days 
afterward Washington, who had crossed back over the 
river after his victory, again recrossed, and with his troops 
once more occupied the town he had captured. 

So the town, almost a thousand prisoners, six brass field- 
pieces, a thousand stands of arms, twelve drums, and four 
colours had fallen into the hands of the victors, and all with 
the loss of only four men, two of whom had been frozen to 
death on the terrible march to Trenton. 

The loss of the colours was not the least in the estima- 
tion of the Hessians. On their standards were engraved 
the words Nescit Pericula, and this fact led one of the 
patriot newspapers to print the following epigram : — 

"The man who submits without striking a blow 
May be said, in a sense, no danger to know ; 
I pray thee, what harm, by the humble submission 
At Trenton was done to the standard of Hessian?" 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 143 

The parole of honour which the Hessian officers signed is 
still in existence. 

It is hardly necessary to write of the consternation the 
news of the victory at Trenton produced in New York. 
Cornwallis naturally gave up all thoughts of his return to 
England, passage for which had already been engaged, 
and started post-haste for Princeton, for he was fearful 
that Washington would at once move either upon that 
place or [New] Brunswick, where many of the British 
stores were kept. General Greene, with about six hundred 
men, had been sent to bother him on the march ; but the 
horrible condition of the roads delayed the British general 
far more than the little force of Continentals could do, 
though they of course were not idle. 

On January 2nd, Lord Cornwallis started with almost 
eight thousand men from Princeton for Trenton, and when, 
near nightfall, after a hard and trying march, he arrived at 
his journey's end, he found his enemy encamped on the 
opposite bank of a little stream that flowed into the 
Delaware not far from Trenton, named the Assanpink or 
Assunpink. Across this there were bridges, and at first 
Cornwallis started to cross there ; but the desperate 
Americans poured such a fire into the advancing ranks 
that this plan was speedily abandoned, at least until 
morning should come. But the British leader was jubi- 
lant, for now, as he declared, he was confident that at last 
he "had bagged the old fox," as he nicknamed his foe. 

What was Washington to do ? Close before him was 
his enemy, eager and ready for battle. His own men were 
almost worn out, and even if they could hold the bridges 
there were fords near by through which the redcoats could 
easily gain the side on which the Americans were en- 



144 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

camped. Washington soon decided to call a council of 
his officers, and calmly listened while one after another gave 
it as his decided opinion that the only thing to be done 
was to leave the place in the darkness as fast as they 
could go. 

After listening to the words of all, the commander gave 
his own opinion, which was that leaving a few men in the 
camp to keep up an appearance of digging trenches and to 
keep the fires burning, the rest of the army should start 
for Princeton and attack the redcoats that were there. 

Almost every officer was aghast at the suggestion, and 
hardly one believed that the proposal was wise. " The 
roads were heavy with mud," " the enemy was too strong 
to be attacked," and various other objections were offered ; 
but at that very time the wind died away and the air 
became intensely cold, so cold that the very mud in the 
roads began to freeze solidly. 

Almost hopeless of success the plan of Washington was 
at last agreed to, and after leaving just men enough to 
handle the picks and shovels within the hearing of the 
British sentries and to supply the fires with fence rails, 
the entire body silently departed from the bank of the lit- 
tle stream and started grimly for Princeton. 

It was sunrise when, near to Princeton, they met the 
advancing force of Colonel Mawhood, who had started for 
Trenton to join Cornwallis. Instantly the redcoats fell 
upon the straggling Continentals, believing as they did 
that they were trying to run away. Run they did, but it 
was not away from but directly toward the approaching 
British. Back and forth the opposing lines were driven 
until brave Hugh Mercer, the Jersey general, fell under 
the bayonets of the redcoats, who, mistaking him at first 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 1 45 

for Washington, clubbed him upon the head and body 
until he was covered with bruises. His men, almost 
overwhelmed by this loss, were beginning to fall back ; but 
just at that moment Washington himself, very much alive 
and terribly in earnest, rode into their midst, rallied the 
men, and the battle became fierce again, until in a few 
minutes the British lines were cut and one part was run- 
ning toward Trenton and the other making equally good 
time over the road toward [New] Brunswick, while two 
hundred of their recent comrades lay dead or wounded on 
the field and three hundred more were prisoners. The 
Americans had not lost one hundred men all told in the 
fearful struggle, which had lasted less than a half hour. 

It was at this time that Cornwallis, back near Trenton, 
opened his eyes and could hardly believe what he saw — a 
camp deserted by his foes. At the same time there came 
sounds from the distance that were very like thunder ; but 
the British general instantly knew it was not thunder, and 
as quickly understood what it really was — Washington, 
"the old fox," had left the Assunpink and was fighting 
at Princeton ! 

Instantly he started to the aid of his comrades, but the 
morning sun softened the roads which had been hard 
enough to bear the weight of the cannon of the Ameri- 
cans, and his progress was slow, so slow that when he 
arrived the only sight he beheld was that of men destroy- 
ing the bridge over Stony Brook. These were scattered 
by his cannon, but not until the planks had been thrown 
into the brook and the men had escaped. 

Into the cold, rushing waters the eager redcoats dashed 
and then rushed on toward Princeton ; but when a thirty- 
two pounder at the west end cf the village was fired at 



146 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

them, the British halted, Cornwallis thinking that Wash 
ington was intending to make a stand there and give hiro 
battle. An hour was spent in reconnoitring, and then 
when the scarlet-clad forces entered the village, not one of 
the rebels was to be seen ; for Washington, with all his men, 
was chasing two British regiments toward New Brunswick. 
So the battle of Princeton, January 3d, 1777, was quickly 
added to that at Trenton, and the crisis of the Revolution 
had been safely passed. 

Once more Washington consulted his fellow-generals as 
to what was best to be done, and just as they had all a 
brief time before opposed his advance upon Princeton, so 
now they all, proud of the success that had been won, were 
eager to push on for Brunswick ; but again the great leader 
opposed their counsel and declared that they must abandon 
that attempt and seek winter quarters among the hills of 
northern New Jersey. The men were too poorly equipped, 
he declared, and were almost exhausted by the continuous 
strain which they had borne for the past few weeks, and it 
was better to rest on laurels already won than to endanger 
all by entering another contest in which the odds would be 
decidedly against them. 

Reluctantly his advice was followed, and while the 
desperate British pushed on for Brunswick to protect 
their stores in that town, Washington and his little 
army, confidence in a measure restored by the two 
victories won, started for Morristown, where they went 
into winter quarters. Several skirmishes afterward oc- 
curred, but with the sole result of the British withdraw- 
ing into New York, and Brunswick and Sandy Hook. All 
that the redcoats had really succeeded in taking, besides 
many prisoners and stores, had been New York City and 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 1 47 

Newport, Rhode Island, which they had also seized in 
December, 1776. 

The effect of the victories of Trenton and Princeton 
quickly became marked, and Congress vested powers in 
Washington that almost made him a dictator in the new 
world. Measures were taken for increasing the army. 
Many of the soldiers had been induced to remain, and 
Washington had in addition to his pleadings with his men 
declared that he himself would become personally respon- 
sible for the small bounty he had promised. The promise 
of a tract of one hundred acres of land was also held out 
to each soldier who would enlist for three years or until 
the end of the war ; and while the country rang with his 
praises, the commander began to think he really saw a 
ray of hope in the struggle which it was now his plan to 
make a long one rather than a sharp, short contest. 

In money matters, which in a new country and one almost 
without resources we may be sure presented a very trying 
problem, Washington had been greatly aided by Robert 
Morris, whose quiet work, though it was not generally 
known, really was one of the strongest forces in the build- 
ing of the new nation. 

While the patriots were singing the praises of Washing- 
ton, word of his success was brought to his mother, who 
was living in a quiet home near Fredericksburg, Virginia, 
which her son had selected for her. She was a strong 
woman, with affection that was very deep, but which she 
seldom showed. Indeed, Lafayette declared that she was 
almost a type of the Spartan mother, and that he honoured 
her as he did but few women in the history of the world. 
Not one word of praise did she bestow upon her son for 
his great deeds, but doubtless both fully understood what 
her true feelings were. 



148 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

From his quarters at Morristown, January 25th, Wash- 
ington sent forth the following proclamation, or as the 
Tory papers sneeringly termed it, " the proclamation of 
the Lord Protector, Mr. George Washington." 

Washington's proclamation 

"Whereas, several persons, inhabitants of the United 
States of America, influenced by inimical motives, intimi- 
dated by the threats of the enemy, or deluded by a proc- 
lamation issued the 30th of November last, by Lord and 
General Howe, styled the King's commissioners for grant- 
ing pardons, etc. (now at open war and invading these 
states), have been so lost to the interest and welfare of 
their country, as to repair to the enemy, sign a declara- 
tion of fidelity, and in some instances have been compelled 
to take the oaths of allegiance, and engage not to take up 
arms, or encourage others so to do, against the king of 
Great Britain. And, whereas, it has become necessary to 
distinguish between the friends of America and those 
of Great Britain, inhabitants of these states, and that 
every man who receives protection from, and is a subject 
of any state (not being conscientiously scrupulous against 
bearing arms), should stand ready to defend the same 
against hostile invasion : I do, therefore, in behalf of the 
United States, by virtue of the powers committed to me by 
Congress, hereby strictly command and require every per- 
son, having subscribed such declaration, taken such oaths, 
and accepted such protection and certificate, to repair to 
headquarters, or to the quarters of the nearest general 
offices of the Continental army or militia (until further pro- 
vision can be made by civil authority,) and there deliver 
up such protection, certificate, and passports, and take the 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 1 49 

oath of allegiance to the United States of America ; never- 
theless, hereby granting full liberty to all such as prefer 
the interest and protection of Great Britain to the freedom 
and happiness of their country, forthwith to withdraw them- 
selves and families within the enemy's lines. And I do 
hereby declare, that all and every person who may neglect 
or refuse to comply with this order, within thirty days from 
the date hereof, will be deemed adherents to the king 
of Great Britain and treated as common enemies of these 
American states." 

This proclamation had a very marked and immediate 
effect, though it was bitterly assailed and ridiculed by the 
Tories of New Jersey. 

Meanwhile the many prisoners in New York City were 
treated after a manner that is almost beyond belief to-day. 
This in part was due to the anger of the British over their 
failure to subdue the rebellion ; in part, no doubt, to the 
easy-going good nature of Howe, who probably did not 
fully understand all that was being done, and still more 
to the brutality of the men in charge of the wretched pris- 
oners, of whom the infamous Cunningham was the leader. 
No better description of their condition and sufferings can 
be given than that which was contained in one of the 
patriot papers of that time : — 

"As soon as they were taken they were robbed of all 
their baggage, of whatever money they had, though it were 
of paper, and could be of no advantage to the enemy, of 
their silver shoe buckles and knee buckles, etc., and many 
were stripped almost naked of their clothes. Especially 
those who had good clothes were stripped at once, being 
told that suc/i clothes were too good for rebels. Thus de- 
prived of their clothes and baggage, they were unable to 



150 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

shift even their linen, and were obliged to wear the same 
shirts for even three or four months together, whereby 
they became extremely nasty ; and this of itself was suffi- 
cient to bring on them many mortal diseases. 

" After they were taken, they were in the first place put 
on board the ships and thrust down into the hold, where 
not a breath of fresh air could be obtained, and they were 
nearly suffocated for want of air. . . . And yet these 
same persons, after lying in this situation for a while till 
the pores of their bodies were as perfectly opened as pos- 
sible, were of a sudden taken out and put into some of the 
churches in New York, without covering or a spark of 
fire, where they suffered as much by the cold as they did 
by the sweating stagnation of the air in the other situa- 
tion ; and the consequence was, that they took such colds 
as brought on the most fatal diseases and swept them off 
almost beyond conception. 

" Besides these things, they suffered extremely for want 
of provisions. The commissary pretended to allow half 
a pound of bread and four ounces of pork per day ; but of 
this pittance they were much cut short. What was given 
them for three days was not enough for one day ; and in 
some instances they went for three days without a single 
mouthful of food of any sort. They were pinched to that 
degree that some on board the ships would pick up and 
eat the salt which happened to be scattered there ; others 
gathered up the bran which the light horse wasted, and 
ate it, mixed with dirt and filth as it was. . . . 

" Nor were the men in this doleful condition allowed a 
sufficiency of water. One would have thought that water 
was so cheap and plentiful an element that they would 
not have grudged them that. But there are, it seems, no 
bounds to their cruelty. 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 151 

"When winter came on, our people suffered extremely 
for want of fire and clothes to keep them warm. They 
were confined in churches where there were no fireplaces 
that they could make fires in, even if they had wood. But 
wood was only allowed them for cooking their pittance of 
victuals and for that purpose very sparingly. . . . Nor 
had they a single blanket or any bedding, not even straw, 
allowed them till a little before Christmas. 

" At the time those were taken on Long Island a con- 
siderable part of them were sick of the dysentery, and with 
this distemper on them were first crowded on board the 
ships, afterward in the churches in New York, three, four, 
or five hundred together, without any blankets, or any- 
thing for even the sick to lie upon, but the bare floors or 
pavements. ... Of this distemper numbers died daily, 
and many others, by their confinement and the sultry 
season, contracted fevers and died of them. During their 
sickness, with these and other diseases, they had no medi- 
cines, nothing soothing or comfortable for sick people, 
and were not so much as visited by the physician by the 
month together. 

"... It seems that one end of their starving our 
people was to bring them, by dint of necessity, to turn 
rebels to their own country, their own consciences, and 
their God. For while thus famishing they would come and 
say to them : 'This is the just punishment of your rebel- 
lion. Nay, you are treated too well for rebels ; you have 
not received half you deserve or half you shall receive. 
But if you will enlist into his Majesty's service, you shall 
have victuals and clothes enough.' 

"As to insults, the British officers, besides continually 
cursing and swearing at them as rebels, often threatened 



152 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

to hang them all ; and on a particular time ordered a 
number, each man to choose his halter out of a parcel 
offered, wherewith to be hanged ; and even went so far 
as to cause a gallows to be erected before the prison, as 
if they were immediately to be executed. They further 
threatened to send them all into the East Indies, and sell 
them there for slaves. . . . 

"To these circumstances we subjoin the manner in 
which they buried those of our people who died. They 
dragged them out of their prisons by one leg and one 
arm, piled them up without doors, there let them lie till 
a sufficient number were dead to make a cart-load, then 
loaded them up in a cart, drove the cart thus loaded out 
to the ditches, made by our people when fortifying New 
York ; there they would tip the cart, tumble the corpses 
together into the ditch, and afterward slightly cover them 
with earth. 

" As the only prisons in New York at the time were the 
' New Jail ' and the ' New Bridewell,' a number of the 
Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed churches, the buildings 
of Columbia College, the hospitals, and three great build- 
ings known as ' sugar houses,' were all made use of and 
filled with the suffering, despairing men. Amidst the 
horrors of these surroundings not the least of the heroism 
in the struggle for liberty was exhibited, and many died 
for their country there as certainly as did others on the 
field of battle. ' They being dead yet speak.' " 

Years afterward William Cunningham, when dying, made 
and signed the following confession : — 

" I was appointed provost-marshal to the Royal army, 
which placed me in a situation to wreak my vengeance on 
the Americans. I shudder to think of the murders I have 



TRENTON AND PRINCETON 153 

been accessory to, both with and without orders from gov- 
ernment, especially while in New York, during which time 
there were more than 2000 prisoners stored in the differ- 
ent churches, by stopping their rations, which I sold. There 
were also 275 American prisoners and obnoxious persons 
executed, out of all which number there were only about 
one dozen public executions, which chiefly consisted of 
British and Hessian deserters. The mode for private 
executions was thus conducted : a guard was despatched 
from the provost about half-past twelve at night to the 
Barrack Street (now Chambers) and the neighbourhood of 
the upper barracks to order the people to shut their win- 
dow shutters and put out their lights, forbidding them at 
the same time to presume to look out of their windows 
and doors on pain of death ; after which the unfortunate 
prisoners were conducted, gagged, just behind the upper 
barracks, and hung without ceremony, and there buried by 
the black pioneer of the provost." 



CHAPTER XVI 

ARNOLD AND CARLETON 

Meanwhile, the success of Washington had not been 
the only encouraging event of the year 1776. Up on 
Lake Champlain, Benedict Arnold and his bold men had 
been defeated in the first engagement between a British 
and an American fleet ; but his defeat, like that which so 
frequently occurred during the Revolution, had been of a 
character that really encouraged the struggling patriots. 
Perhaps the best test of a true man or nation, after all, is 
in the spirit with which apparent disaster is faced. 

It was a favourite scheme of the British, not only in the 
early years of the struggle, but afterward, as we shall 
learn in the course of this record, to split apart the united 
colonies by an invasion from Canada, which should secure 
the waters and defences of Lake Champlain and Lake 
George, and by holding the Hudson not only open a 
waterway between New York and Montreal, but also pre- 
sent a barrier which neither part of the separated colonies 
could break through. 

After the failure of the American expedition against 
Quebec it was believed, and indeed learned beyond a 
doubt, that Carleton would assemble a large force, already 
increased as it was by reinforcements of vessels and men 
from England, make his way up Lake Champlain, attack 
Crown Point and Ticonderoga, and then push on for 
Albany or New York. 

»S4 



ARNOLD AND CARLETON 155 

General Gates, who at the time was in command of the 
Northern army, having superseded Schuyler in that office, 
although Washington well knew that Philip Schuyler was 
much the better man, in spite of the petty jealousies and 
rivalries of the colonies that prevented him from following 
his own better judgment, had called a council of his officers 
and decided that Arnold was the man to provide and com- 
mand a fleet to harass, if it could not drive back, the on- 
coming force of Great Britain. 

With all his accustomed energy and enthusiasm Arnold 
threw himself into the task. Men from the coast of Connect- 
icut and Massachusetts came to his aid, and within a few 
weeks after the time when they began their work, Arnold's 
men had felled the great trees of the near-by forests, cut 
and fashioned the timbers, and by the middle of August, 
1776, a small squadron had been made and rudely equipped. 

A sloop with twelve guns, a schooner with the same 
number, two schooners with eight guns each, and five 
"gondolas," each with five guns, comprised the "navy," 
which Carleton, with a fleet composed of a number of very 
strong vessels, twenty gunboats, and more than two hun- 
dred transports, of which forty were boats loaded with pro- 
visions, was advancing to meet. It is claimed that twelve 
thousand men were in Carleton's army at the time. 

Arnold had planned to go as far down the lake as Isle 
Aux Tetes, near Rouse's Point, but finding out that the 
Tories and Indians were assembling near him, and hearing 
numerous reports of the size of Carleton's force, he fell back 
with his own fleet, which had meanwhile been somewhat 
strengthened, until, in the narrow little channel between 
Valcour Island and the New York shore, he found a place 
where he was somewhat protected, and there awaited the 
coming of his foe. 



156 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

It was early in the morning of Friday, October nth, 
when the long-expected British force appeared, and the 
sight of it must have been one to stir the hearts of Benedict 
Arnold and his men. Greatly outnumbered, facing a fleet 
manned by experienced sailors, other men than Arnold 
might have tried to flee ; but personally talking to his 
followers, appearing at any moment among his men when 
he was needed, the doughty fighter waited, and at noon of 
that day the battle began, and within an hour every vessel 
was engaged in the fearful conflict. 

For nearly five hours the smoke of battle rested over the 
waters. The American vessels suffered terribly, about 
sixty of their men had been killed or wounded, the rigging 
was torn with shot, masts were broken into splinters, but 
the intrepid Arnold had never a thought of giving up, for 
that was not what he had been sent to do. With his own 
hands he aimed the guns, and his voice and shouts and 
example were the constant inspiration of his men. 

When darkness fell, victory had not yet been won by 
either side, and the two fleets were within speaking dis- 
tance of each other when the men ceased their efforts. 
The night that followed was dark, and there was a strong 
wind from the north, and after consulting with his officers 
Arnold decided to attempt to withdraw from the place he 
held, satisfied that if the battle was resumed in the morn- 
ing, the outcome could not be long doubtful. Accordingly, 
about ten o'clock that evening, the little crippled fleet 
weighed anchor, and with Arnold's vessel bringing up the 
rear, crept slowly and safely away from the over-confident 
boats of the enemy, and were more than nine miles away 
when Carleton discovered that he had been fooled. 

Immediately the British gave chase, but the wind had 



ARNOLD AND CARLETON 157 

shifted, and it was not until the early morning of the 13th, 
that the enemy was close enough to fire upon the retreat- 
ing fleet. Arnold's vessel was still the rear-guard, and 
soon this was receiving the terrible fire of three of Carle- 
ton's gun-boats. One of the American fleet (the Washing- 
ton) soon struck, and the men on board were made prisoners, 
among whom was the notorious Joe Bettys, who, after he 
was taken to Canada, entered the British service, and be- 
came one of the most detested spies of all the war. He 
seemed to be filled with hatred for his former comrades and 
friends, and at last, after having been captured and par- 
doned, and then breaking his promise, was justly hanged. 

Soon seven of the British fleet were united in an attack 
upon the Congress (Arnold's "flag-ship"), but though it 
was soon punctured with holes and was such a wreck that 
it could hardly be kept afloat, Arnold apparently did not 
know how to give up, but still fought on. By his command 
some of the other vessels were sent ashore and set on fire 
by the men after they landed, but still the flags were 
flying on the Congress, and her cannon had not been 
silenced. 

When, however, the other men had safely gained the 
shore, Arnold at last joined them and marched so rapidly 
for Crown Point that the Indians, who had been sent ahead 
to form an ambush, let him pass before they knew he was 
gone, and he safely gained the fort whither one of his 
schooners, one galley, one sloop, and one gondola — all 
that now remained of his fleet — had already made their 
way in safety. The British had lost about forty men in 
the two fights, and the Americans about twice that num- 
ber ; but they had inflicted so much damage upon Carle- 
ton's fleet, and had fought so stubbornly, that the British 



158 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

commander, though he at once took possession of Crown 
Point, which the Americans had speedily abandoned for 
Ticonderoga, the fort they particularly desired to hold, did 
not know whether it was wise to follow up his "victory" 
or not. Carleton is to be given credit for the kindness 
with which he treated his prisoners, for he ordered the 
same care to be given them that was bestowed upon his 
own wounded men. 

For a few days the men in Fort Ticonderoga were in 
great fear lest the enemy should move upon them, and 
there can be no doubt that the place would have fallen 
had the British leader acted promptly ; but he explained 
to his superiors, who were very indignant at his failure to 
use and follow up the victory he had won, that the cold 
weather would soon be at hand, and if his fleet should be 
held in the ice he knew not what would happen to him. 
Accordingly, after a brief delay, Carleton sailed away for 
Canada, and his great expedition had in reality accom- 
plished nothing except to destroy a few rude vessels that 
the Americans had hastily constructed of green timbers in 
the summer days. 

Without any doubt the credit of all this was due to 
Benedict Arnold. It was his ability, bravery, and example 
that had cheered his men and virtually held back the en- 
emy. Even his own enemies, and they were many, for he 
was a man who seemed to have a strange facility in arous- 
ing opposition, acknowledged this ; but in spite of all that 
he had done, when the new generals were appointed, 
Arnold was ignored by Congress. His bravery and abil- 
ity certainly had entitled him to the promotion, and 
Washington himself was strongly in favour of it ; but once 
more the petty rivalries and jealousies of the men from the 



ARNOLD AND CARLETON 159 

different colonies prevailed, and it was declared that Con- 
necticut already had too many officers, and now should 
have no more until some others had received their just 
recognition. 

Arnold was furiously angry at this slight, and it was 
only by the earnest personal solicitation of the great 
Washington himself that he did not leave the army then 
and there. All this injustice, for it was nothing less, al- 
though it affords no just reason for the treachery of 
Arnold which followed in the year 1780, still provides some- 
thing of an excuse. If he had been a really great and true 
man, he would have preferred to suffer wrong rather than 
do wrong ; but all that belongs to another part of this 
history, and for his wonderfully brave work on Lake 
Cham plain in October, 1776, he is entitled to the thanks 
and admiration of all the lovers of America. 



CHAPTER XVII 

PREPARING FOR A NEW CAMPAIGN 

The winter and spring months that followed were busy 
ones for both nations engaged in the contest. In Eng- 
land there was still a feeling of strong confidence that the 
rebellion would soon be crushed, and the same confident 
spirit was manifest among the British soldiers and their 
allies in America. Some of the Hessian soldiers, it is 
true, had been induced to desert by the promise which the 
Americans had caused to be written out on small bits of 
paper and enclosed in little packages of tobacco that they 
took pains to have scattered among the "Dutch butchers," 
whereby a home and a goodly number of untilled acres 
should be given to each soldier who withdrew from the 
service of King George ; but the main body was still 
intact. 

Congress and those who had charge of the finances 
were busy with their own problems, and Benjamin Frank- 
lin had gone to France to try to induce that nation to 
assist the colonies in their efforts to gain their freedom. 
Franklin himself became very popular with many of the 
leading Frenchmen, though the king of France probably 
did not favour him overmuch. With many the inducement 
to help America was born not of a love for that land so 
much as of a bitter hatred for England, but at this time 
the aid largely consisted of promises and of sometimes 

160 



PREPARING FOR A NEW CAMPAIGN l6l 

turning a blind eye toward the American privateers, many 
of which were fitted out or found a place of refuge among 
the ports of France. 

Practically the newly formed states had no navy ; but 
along the coast, particularly in New England, were many 
daring, hardy sailors, whose services in the battles of Long 
Island and Trenton we have already related. Others of 
these men were given commissions as privateers in the 
hope that by preying upon the commerce of Great Britain 
the mother country would the sooner be brought to see 
that the Americans were in deadly earnest. Indeed, 
Franklin had carried with him on his voyage to France 
a number of such blank commissions signed by John 
Hancock as President of the congress, and he was to use 
his own good judgment in filling them out. Ezekiel 
Hopkins, John Paul Jones, and others whose names and 
deeds we shall have occasion to refer to elsewhere were 
among these daring privateers, and so bold had been their 
deeds that insurance rates on English shipping became 
very high, and many of the French vessels were at this 
time engaged in carrying the English trade. Perhaps one 
little story will better illustrate the conditions than any 
detailed account could do. 

In the crew of one of these American vessels, the 
Reprisal, was a young sailor named Conyngham, a keen, 
daring young man, not twenty-five years of age. So suc- 
cessful had he been in escaping from the English prisons 
when he was captured, and so confident were his superiors 
in his ability, that he was induced to take command of one 
of the vessels of the fleet then being fitted out at Dun- 
kirk for privateering purposes. Already his name had 
become a familiar one to the English, and he was familiarly 



1 62 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

known as "the Arch Rebel," and pictures of him represent, 
ing him not as he was, a slim, dapper young fellow, but as 
a great, coarse, roistering pirate, were stuck up in the shop 
windows of London, and even the nurse-maids were accus- 
tomed to point to them to frighten the children in their 
care. Indeed, it is said that one time, when he had just 
escaped from an English prison, he joined the crowd in 
front of one window and with them gazed at what was sup- 
posed to be a picture of "Conyngham the Arch Rebel," 
but no one detected the resemblance, and so he went free. 
Early in the spring of 1777 he set sail from Dunkirk in 
the privateer Surprise, and in less than a week had captured 
the Joseph, a trim British brig, and a packet, The Prince 
of Orange. When he sailed back to France the English- 
men made such a time over his exploits that the French- 
men compelled him give up the prizes and his prisoners, 
and even declared that he and his own men must also be 
held as prisoners of the English. That was a great state 
of affairs in Conyngham's eyes, and in the eyes of others, 
too, for the matter of that ; but before the English man-of- 
war arrived to carry him to England, through the aid of 
Ben Franklin and some of the Frenchmen, he assembled 
a new crew and set sail in the Revenge, and so escaped. 
The purpose of the Revenge was to intercept the English 
transports carrying Hessians to America, but though he 
failed to take any Hessians, off the West Indies he fell in 
with an English schooner and took that. Among his pris- 
oners were four young American ladies who were naturally 
greatly frightened when they discovered that they were in 
the hands of the terrible Conyngham, "the Arch Rebel." 
However, they soon recovered from their terror, at least 
one of them did, for not long afterward she became the 



PREPARING FOR A NEW CAMPAIGN 1 63 

wife of the privateer. So sturdy a lass was she that after- 
ward, when her husband was taken again by the British, 
and this time they boasted that nothing could save him 
from the hanging they declared he deserved, she herself 
went to see Washington and in person begged of Congress 
for help for her husband. Her plea prevailed, and Congress 
authorized Washington to retaliate and hang a British cap- 
tain, if Captain Conyngham should be harmed. Perhaps 
it is not necessary to relate that "the Arch Rebel" was 
not hanged. 

In New York, the captive American general, Charles 
Lee, was plotting with Howe and trying to show him just 
how he could gain an easy victory over Washington, "the 
fox." Howe listened, though what he himself must have 
thought of his prisoner no one knows ; but later events 
showed that after a trial he abandoned Lee's suggestions 
and followed his own plans, with greater success than 
otherwise he could have gained. 

The American army was being strengthened somewhat, 
that is, strengthened as much as a Congress without money 
and men without experience could accomplish, and all were 
looking forward to the springtime of 1777, with a full reali- 
zation that the struggle was only begun. 

Some efforts were made to strengthen the American 
cause on the sea, and in November, 1776, it had been de- 
cided that the equivalent offices of the naval force should 
be that an admiral should rank as a general, a vice-admiral 
as lieutenant-general, rear-admiral as major-general, com- 
modore as brigadier-general, captain of a forty-gun ship 
and upward as a colonel, captain of a ship of ten to twenty 
guns as major, and a lieutenant as captain. 

The pay of the various officers had been fixed as follows 



1 64 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

per month : major-general, $166, except when he was act- 
ing in a separate department, and then it was to be $330; 
brigadier-general, $125; adjutant-general, $125; commis- 
sary-general, $80 ; quartermaster-general, $80 ; his deputy, 
$40; paymaster-general, $100; his deputy, $50; chief en- 
gineer, $60 ; three aides-de-camp for the general, each $33 ; 
his secretary, $66 ; and commissary of the musters, $40. 
Certain it is that it was not the money they received that 
was the inducement of the officers of the Continental army. 
And yet it would be hardly just to suppose that every soldier 
was an ardent patriot, for such was not the case. Though 
there were many men fighting for freedom for its own sake, 
there were others who had no such patriotic motives, and 
out of this varying material, and petty jealousies between 
colonies and men, and treachery on the part of some of 
the leaders, was to be constructed an army that should 
insure the liberty of the men of America. The real cause 
of wonder is that Washington ever could have done what 
he did. 

The year of 1777 was to be a trying one. Carleton had 
practically failed in the preceding year to open the way 
along Lake Champlain from Montreal to Albany and 
New York. This project was dear to the hearts of many 
of the British leaders, and this year the attempt was to be 
made under the leadership of a man, who if words, and 
particularly his own words, were to be believed, did not 
know the meaning of failure — John Burgoyne. " Britons 
never retreat" was a favourite expression with him ; but he 
was to learn that every rule has its exception, and this 
statement, though it had been proved to be true many a 
time, was not to be different from others. 

General John Burgoyne almost from his boyhood days 



PREPARING FOR A NEW CAMPAIGN 165 

had been in the service of the British army, and had partic- 
ularly distinguished himself in the war of Portugal with 
Spain when England had been aiding the former nation. 
He was a man of a genial nature, made friends easily, and 
was particularly proud of the literary work he had done, for 
he had written one or two plays and some poems which 
were greatly admired in the court of King George, with 
whom Burgoyne was a favourite. He had no small talent 
as a general, too, but he was so supremely confident of his 
own ability, and so thoroughly despised the "country 
bumpkins " who opposed him, that his very over-confidence 
led to his failure. 

When Lord George Germain, after listening to the plan 
Burgoyne laid before him, for Burgoyne had previously 
been in America and was at Boston when the battle of 
Bunker Hill occurred, secured for him, through his influ- 
ence with the king, the command of the force which was 
to make the invasion from Canada, there was no happier 
man in the British army than he, and many were his boasts 
as to what he would accomplish. It was well he did his 
boasting before his campaign, for he had no opportunity 
afterward. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

burgoyne's plans and tryon's march upon danbury 

As we know, Carleton had retreated into Canada. The 
British held New York and Newport, and the plan now 
formed was for Burgoyne to advance upon Albany by the 
way of Lake Champlain while Colonel Barry St. Leger 
with a large force of regulars and Indians was to go up the 
St. Lawrence from Montreal and to sweep down through 
the Mohawk valley and join Burgoyne at Albany. At the 
same time Clinton with another force was to come up 
the Hudson from New York and join the other two men 
and so effectually split and hold apart the eastern from the 
middle and southern colonies. Certainly, as far as the 
plan was concerned, it was a good one; but to plan is one 
thing, and to do is a very different matter, as John Bur- 
goyne soon learned to his sorrow. 

Before entering upon the story of this invasion, how- 
ever, we must refer to a project of Sir William Howe's 
that had a marked effect upon the patriots. All through 
the winter of 1776-77 the hardy patriots had been gather- 
ing stores at Danbury, Connecticut, and word of this hav- 
ing been received at New York it was decided to send a 
force to seize these valuables and so inflict a blow upon 
the stubborn "farmers" that might aid in bringing them 
to their senses. 

Accordingly Tryon, who as we know had had such 

166 



BURGOYNE'S PLANS 1 67 

serious trouble when he was governor of North Carolina 
and indeed afterward as the governor of New York, was 
given two thousand men with whom he sailed away for 
Fairfield, Connecticut, and there landed. They then 
marched across the country to Danbury, and after seizing 
the stores set fire to the town and started on their march 
back to Fairfield. But the militia, boys, and old men, join- 
ing the ranks of the patriots, followed the retiring invaders, 
and shooting from behind rocks and trees kept up a galling 
fire on the returning redcoats. 

Benedict Arnold was in New Haven at the time, and, for 
the moment forgetful of his own slights, with six hundred 
men rushed to Ridgefield, where he joined Wooster, who 
was in command of the militia, and there a stubborn fight 
took place April 27th, 1777. Twice the horse Arnold was 
riding was shot from under him ; but still Arnold fought 
on, encouraging his men and fighting like a demon. In 
the end the British were defeated and indeed were almost 
captured, though at last they managed to get away after 
they had lost two hundred of their men. For his bravery 
Congress voted to make Arnold a major-general and also 
presented him with a fine horse ; but still he felt that jus- 
tice had not been done him, and when Washington urged 
him to take command of the Americans at Peekskill on the 
Hudson, he declined. But he was not to be without a 
share in the stirring events of the approaching summer. 

The following account appeared in the Pennsylvania 
Journal \x\ May, 1777, and may serve as an illustration of 
the tendency of our forefathers " to drop into poetry " as 
well as to show their feelings at the time : — 



1 68 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



THE EXPEDITION TO DANBURY 

A royal "attack and feat " under the command of General Try on to 
destroy the stores of beef pork, and rum 

Scene. — New York 

Without wit, without wisdom, half stupid and drunk, 
And rolling along arm in arm with his [junk], 
The gallant Sir William, who fights all by proxy, 
Thus spoke to his soldiers, held up by his doxy : 

" My boys, I'm a-going to send you with Tryon 
To a place where you'll all get as groggy as I am ; 
And the wounded, when well, shall receive a full gill, 
But the slain be allowed as much as they will. 
By a Tory from Danbury I've just been informed 
That there's nobody there, so the place shall be stormed." 

Tryon 

If there's nobody there, sir, and nobody near it, 
Two thousand will conquer the whole, never fear it. 

[Joe Gallop-away, 1 a refugee Tory with several others] 
Good soldiers, go fight that we all may get rich. 

Soldiers 

Go get a halter . . . 

D'ye think, you contemptible thief-looking crew, 

That we fight to get beef for such rascals as you ? 

Tryon 

Come on, my brave boys, now as bold as a lion, 
And march for the honour of General Tryon ; 
My lads, there's no danger, for this you may know, 
That I'd let it alone if I thought it was so. 

1 Joseph Galloway was one of the colonials who had yielded to Howe's 
proclamation in New Jersey the preceding year, and had placed himself and 
his possessions under the protection of Howe. 



BURGOYNE'S PLANS 1 69 

Scene. — Connecticut. Troops landed 

Tryon 

In cunning and canting, deceit and disguise, 
In cheating a friend, and inventing of lies, 
I think I'm a match for the best of my species, 
But in this undertaking I fell all in pieces ; 
So I'll fall in the rear, for I'd rather go last : 
Come, march on my boys, let me see you all past, 
For his Majesty's service (so reads my commission) 
Requires that I bring up the whole expedition. 

Scene.— D anbury. Troops arrived 
\A noise among the soldiers'] 

Tryon 
In his Majesty's name, what's this mutinous jargon? 

Soldiers 
We've come to get drunk, sir, for that was the bargain. 

Irish Soldier, drunk 
Huzza for the Congress — the Congress and toddy — 

Tryon 

You rascal, I'll run you quite through the body. 

Second Irish Soldier 

By the head of St. Paddy 
I care not a louse for King George nor his daddy. 

Third Irish Soldier 

What plenty is here ! Oh, what eating and drinking ! 
Who'd stay in New York to be starving and — 

Fourth Irish Soldier 
The rebels, huzza ! in a hat full of rum. 

Fifth Irish Soldier 
Come, let us drink bumpers, Jack, — out of a drum. 



170 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Scotch Soldier 
Laird Bute and his clan are a bundle of thieves. 

English Soldier 
Lord North and his gang are a kennel of slaves. 

Welsh Soldier 
And a Welshman, prave poys, never harbours with knaves. 

All 

Then let us go over, 
Who'd stay to be starved, that might thus live in clover? 

[They sing] 

Let freedom and love be the glee of our song ; 
Let America flourish — the Congress grow strong; 
And brave Washington conqueror all the day long. 

[A consultation of officers. At a distance houses and stores on fire] 

Tryon 

I wish I was back, for I'm wofully scar'd, 
The light will be seen and the noise will be heard, 
And the rebels will gather so thick in our way 
That whether we run for it or whether we stay, 
The fate of the whole will be doubtful — and then — 

[A sudden alarm; an officer in a fright gallops about crying] 

To arms, to arms, to arms, — ten thousand men 
Are pouring from the clouds, — ten thousand more 
Are got between the army and the shore, 
Ten thousand women, too! 

Tryon 

Run, run ; stop, stop ; 
Here keep me on my horse before I drop. 

[Enter an officer from New York. To Tryon] 

Officer 
The king hath promised, sir, you shall be knighted. 



BURGOYNE'S PLANS 171 

Tryon 
The devil take the king — for I'm so frighted — 

Officer 
But, sir, you must attend to what I've said. 

Tryon 
Why, then, the king must knight me when I'm dead. 

Officer 
But I bring orders, sir, which say " you must — " 

Tryon 
Aye, must or not, Til have a gallop first. 
[Sets off with the whole after htm} 

Scene. — The Shipping 
[Troops on board. Tryon surrounded by surgeons'] 

Tryon 
My body's full of balls — I hear them rattle. 

Surgeon 
Tis only, sir, the echo of the battle. 

Tryon 
Do search me over — see where 'tis I'm wounded. 

Surgeon 
You are not hurt, sir. 

Tryon 

Then I'm confounded; 
For as I stood, not knowing what to do, 
Whether to fight, to fly, or to pursue, 
A cannon ball of two and thirty pound 
Struck me just where Sir Peter 1 got his wound ; 
Then passing on between my horse's ears — 

1 Sir Peter Parker who was wounded in the thigh and knee at the battle off 
Sullivan's Island, June 28, 1776. 



172 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Surgeon 

Compose yourself, good sir, — forget your cares, 
You are not slain, — you are alive and well. 

Tryon 

Between my horse's ears, and down he fell, 
Then getting up again — 

Surgeon 

Dear sir, compose, 
And try to get yourself into a doze ; 
The hurt you've got is not so dangerous deep, 
But bleeding, shaving, patience, time, and sleep, 
With blisters, clysters, physic, air, and diet, 
Will set you up again if you'll be quiet. 

Tryon 

So thick, so fast, the balls and bullets flew, 

Some hit me here, some there, some thro' and thro' ; 

And so by thousands did the rebels muster 

Under Generals Arnold and old Wooster 

That let me, let me, let me, let me but 

Get off alive — Farewell, Connecticut. 

Perhaps it was well that some one could find a laughable 
part in the encounter, but it was a serious affair after all, 
and though the Americans came off well, General Wooster 
was among those who laid down their lives on that day. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE INVASION BY JOHN BURGOYNE 

Early in the summer of 1777, Burgoyne, or "John Bur- 
goyne, Esq.," as he wrote his name, was ready for his ad- 
vance from Montreal, and by June 1st he had mustered a 
force of more than seven thousand men at St. John's, at 
the foot of Lake Champlain. 

Owing to the quarrels and bitter rivalries of the colonies, 
the enemies of General Philip Schuyler had succeeded in 
having General Gates placed in command of the army that 
was to oppose the advance of the British. This, however, 
lasted only a few weeks, and Schuyler was again given the 
command and Gates assigned to a position under him ; but 
the disposition of Gates was so petty and his vanity so 
great, that he refused to serve under the abler man, and in 
a pet withdrew for a time from the region. 

The middle of June Burgoyne set sail. The coming of 
Tories, Canadians, and Indians had increased his force to 
almost ten thousand men, of whom a little more than three 
thousand were Hessians, led by the doughty General Rie- 
desel, whose wife also accompanied him on the expedi- 
tion. 

Burgoyne's fleet must have presented a picturesque and 
stirring sight on that beautiful June morning when it set 
sail on the blue waters of Lake Champlain ; but its gay 
appearance was only a reflection of the confidence and 

*73 



174 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

gayety the men all felt in their hearts. In advance was a 
multitude of birch-bark canoes filled with painted Indians, 
whose savage faces and gleaming eyes were already familiar 
to the hardy settlers of the region. Behind them came the 
barges filled with the men of the division of which Gen- 
eral Frazer, next to Burgoyne in authority, and the ablest 
general in the British ranks, was in command. Next to 
them were the armed vessels, among which were two 
frigates. The other generals and the main body of the 
invading army were close behind the fleet, and the rear 
was brought up by the followers of the camp, a motley 
assemblage of Tories and Canadians. 

Scouts of the Americans were on the lookout and soon 
spied the imposing fleet as it moved up the lake, and 
swiftly bore word of the advance to General St. Clair, who 
was in command of Fort Ticonderoga, or " Fort Ty," as 
almost every one called it, which once more was to fall 
without a gun having been fired in its defence. 

For a few days, from June 21st to the 28th, Burgoyne's 
army halted at the falls of the little stream, or river, 
Bouquet, where large numbers of his Indian allies joined 
his forces. The days and nights were largely given over 
to feasting, and "John Burgoyne, Esq.," made an address 
to the redmen in which, adopting their own manner of 
speaking, he urged them not to forget the requirements 
of civilized warfare. It is likely Burgoyne himself was not 
in favour of permitting the savage to scalp or maltreat their 
victims, and yet when he sent forth his proclamation, as 
he did throughout the adjacent region, in addition to the 
invitation he extended to all to place themselves under 
his protecting care and the warnings he gave against per- 
mitting the rebels to secure provisions, he added a threat 



THE INVASION BY JOHN BURGOYNE 1 75 

that he would let loose his hordes if his demands were 
not complied with. 

A small garrison was left by the British at Crown Point 
and then the army pushed on for Fort Ticonderoga, where 
it naturally was thought the rebels would fight if anywhere 
they dared to make a stand before the advancing men. 

General St. Clair, with about three thousand men, was in 
command of the fort, which was fairly well equipped and had 
been greatly strengthened since it had been in the posses- 
sion of the Americans. Not far from the fort (it was not 
qi'.ite a mile) there was a bold, rocky height which rose six 
hundred feet above the waters. This point has been known 
as Sugar-loaf Hill, or Mount Defiance. It is strange that 
this eminence should have been neglected by the Amer- 
icans, for a force once gaining its summit would have the 
fort at its mercy. Again and again the leaders had been 
urged to secure it, but they declared no enemy could scale 
its steep sides, much less drag cannon up its slopes, and 
all this, too, in spite of the fact that Arnold and others 
had shown that such a deed could be done by doing it 
themselves. However, the place was left as nature had 
made it, and in a false feeling of security St. Clair waited. 

They had not long to wait, for the British, quick to see 
the importance of gaining possession of the height, work- 
ing under the direction of their valiant General Phillips 
all through the night of July 4th dragged a few brass 
cannon up the narrow defiles and rude pathways they had 
hastily constructed, and on the next morning (July 5th, 
1777) the astonished Americans in Old Ty beheld their 
enemies looking down from the height which they had so 
confidently asserted could not be scaled. 

The redcoats were not quite ready to begin the attack, 



176 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

however, and St. Clair, after consulting with his officers, 
decided to evacuate the fort that very night. For this he 
afterward was sharply blamed by the people, and perhaps 
he was not entirely without fault. Certainly he should 
have looked after Sugar-loaf Hill (Mount Defiance the 
British had already named it), but it is difficult to judge 
honestly of his act at this late day. 

It was hoped that in the darkness the little army would 
be able to withdraw without their departure being discov- 
ered by the redcoats. The plan was for St. Clair to take 
the most of the men and retreat among the Green Moun- 
tains, while the wives of the officers, the stores, and all the 
guns and ammunition they could carry were to be taken 
by water to Skenesborough (now Whitehall) and thence to 
Fort Edward, where General Schuyler and his force lay, 
and where St. Clair also hoped to come by another way. 

A great chain and many obstructions had been placed 
in the water, by which it was hoped that the British fleet 
would be delayed, if not held back, and so would be pre- 
vented from making an immediate pursuit. 

It was about three o'clock in the morning of July 6th, 
and a part of the garrison had already left the fort, when 
suddenly one of the houses in the fort took fire. This 
was claimed to be the result of an accident, but many 
believed that a treacherous officer had set fire to the 
building. At all events, whatever the cause may have 
been, the house was burning, and in the light of the flames 
the British sentinels discovered the departure of the garri- 
son and instantly set to work. Not an hour had elapsed 
before their own flag was flying over the walls of old Fort 
Ty (which once more had fallen without the discharge of 
a gun). General Frazer was sent with nine hundred men 



THE INVASION BY JOHN BURGOYNE 1 77 

in swift pursuit of the fleeing Americans, arrangements 
were made by which the Hessians under Riedesel were to 
follow up Frazer and give him their aid, and Burgoyne 
himself with all the remainder of his army, except one 
thousand men whom he left to hold the fort which had 
fallen so easily into his possession, started in pursuit of 
those who had fled with the stores and ammunition up 
the lake. 

The men with St. Clair, it is to be feared, were more 
like a mob than an army, and were fleeing without much 
order in the wild hope that they might soon join the forces 
with Schuyler, or at least get between Burgoyne and 
Schuyler, and possibly do enough to hold the British back 
until they themselves could be reenforced by Schuyler's 
men. The day was intensely warm, and the fear and 
haste greatly wearied all. They did not even know that 
Frazer and the Hessians were following them, but after 
they had arrived at Hubbardton, St. Clair decided to push 
on, leaving Colonel Warner and Colonel Francis at that 
little town for a rear-guard. 

It was a mistake for Warner to halt, for all agreed that 
he should have kept close to his leader ; but his men were 
so nearly exhausted, the weather was so hot, and as he 
did not know of Frazer's pursuit, he decided to give his 
men a rest for the night there, though he wisely took the 
precaution of cutting down many of the trees and much of 
the brush, which would be sure to entangle any possible 
advancing foe if it did not check him. 

On the following morning, July 7th, 1777, at about five 
o'clock when the men were preparing their breakfast they 
were astounded by a sudden dash upon them by Frazer's 
men, who, as we know, had in reality been following close 



1 78 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

upon their heels. In their terror one regiment broke and 
fled, but all the other men heroically stood their ground, 
and then began one of the fiercest fights of the entire 
war. The British were bothered by the brush and fallen 
trees and soon every man was fighting from behind trees 
or such protection as he could secure. The forces were 
not unevenly matched, and the zeal of the redcoats was 
not greater than the desperate resistance of the Amer- 
icans. Man after man fell, Colonel Francis was killed ; 
but still the men fought on. The British were beginning 
to give way when suddenly the song of an advancing host 
was heard. The Americans of course did not know that 
the Hessians, though they had been left far behind by 
Frazer's men, were coming to the aid of their comrades. 
It might be that it was the entire force of Burgoyne ad- 
vancing upon them, so the patriots broke and fled, every 
man for himself. They had lost three hundred in killed 
and wounded, besides many prisoners, and the British had 
also suffered severely. 

Meanwhile, Burgoyne had been in swift pursuit of the 
Americans who had fled up the lake with their flotilla. 
They had just arrived at Skenesborough, and before their 
boats could be cleared for action the gun-boats of the 
British began to fire. It could hardly be called a defence 
that the Americans made, and setting fire to their boats 
and stores, the Americans, almost panic-stricken, managed 
somehow to escape to Fort Anne. 

At almost the same time word of the loss at Skenesbor- 
ough and of the defeat of Colonel Warner at Hubbardton 
came to the distracted general St. Clair. His own follow- 
ers, only numbering now about half as many as when he 
had left Fort Ticonderoga, were terrorized, he had but few 



THE INVASION BY JOHN BURGOYNE 1 79 

supplies left, and the region behind him was held by 
Frazer and Riedesel. He did what he could, however, 
and five days later, after having fled by the way of Rut- 
land and Bennington, he succeeded in joining Schuyler at 
Fort Edward, while Warner and his men had at last rested 
at Bennington. 

Burgoyne naturally was highly elated at the wonderful 
success which had been his. It did indeed seem as if he 
had succeeded, for in less than a week all the events in his 
campaign which we have recorded had occurred, and small 
cause for wonder is it that he sent word of his success to 
England, which as greatly pleased the king as it had John 
Burgoyne, Esq., himself. 

Philip Schuyler now quickly sent men to aid St. Clair at 
Fort Anne ; but Burgoyne was moving swiftly, eager not 
only to give the Americans no time to recover, but to com- 
plete his work as speedily as possible ; but the regiment he 
instantly sent forward to Fort Anne, even while the flames 
of Skenesborough were blazing, found when they arrived 
that the demoralized Americans were not entirely con- 
quered yet. Not waiting for the British to approach, the 
hardy patriots dashed upon them with such fury that for 
once the "Britons did retreat"; but the frightful yelling of 
the approaching Indians caused the victorious Americans 
to halt, and delaying but a moment in the face of a peril 
which to the settlers was greater than all others, they 
quickly set fire to the blockhouse at Fort Anne and then 
started swiftly for Fort Edward. But the British, checked 
for the moment, instead of pursuing fell back to rejoin 
their comrades at Skenesborough. 

Certainly the Americans had not thus far made a very 
good showing. At this day we can understand better 



180 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

than did our forefathers the problems the leaders were 
compelled to face. Congress had given but little aid, the 
troops were poorly equipped and without discipline, and 
were compelled to face an enemy which they had always 
been taught was the most powerful on earth. Small cause 
for wonder is it that the soldiers themselves were dis- 
heartened men ; and such men as John Adams declared 
that the Americans would not be able to defend a post 
until they first shot some of the generals. Had it not been 
for Washington's great heart and his complete confidence 
in Philip Schuyler, worse disasters than those already re- 
lated would very likely have befallen the demoralized 
army, which was trying to head off John Burgoyne on 
what appeared to be his successful invasion of the country. 

Washington himself could not come to the aid of his 
friend, for as we shall elsewhere learn he did not himself 
know what the British plans were. Howe was in New 
York, but where he would strike, Washington could not 
determine. It might be New England, and it might be 
Philadelphia, and he must be prepared for either event. 
Burgoyne increased his confusion when he learned that 
the Hessians had been left in Vermont, with the very 
purpose of creating an impression that the invading army 
was planning to march toward Boston. 

John Burgoyne himself meanwhile had fallen back upon 
Skenesborough and was planning for a march to Albany. 
More savages and Tories now joined his ranks, but his 
delay afforded the Americans the opportunity they most 
desired, and they at once began to destroy the bridges and 
make many obstructions on the road which Burgoyne must 
follow ; but as Schuyler did not have four thousand men 
all told with him at Fort Edward, he did not feel that he 



THE INVASION BY JOHN BURGOYNE l8l 

dared venture a battle, and so fell back to Moses Creek, 
then to Saratoga, and at last to Stillwater, and Burgoyne's 
advance when he left Skenesborough was so slow that 
often he could not march more than a mile a day, and it 
was the 30th of July before, at last, his army was at Fort 
Edward. 

Two new perils now began to threaten the invading 
army, one being that of the failure of their supplies, and 
the other was that of the enemies who were assembling be- 
hind them, for the patriots in the region were beginning 
to recover from the fear Burgoyne's advance at first had 
produced. They had also been greatly stirred by the use 
Burgoyne was making of the Indians, and in particular the 
story of Jane or Jennie McCrea aroused their anger and 
made them determined to resist to the uttermost the efforts 
of those who were capable of using such allies to win back 
the "disloyal subjects of King George." This story has 
been told in many different forms, but the one related by 
Colonel William L. Stone in his very excellent work, " The 
Campaign of Sir John Burgoyne," seems to be authentic, 
and it is here given in that writer's own words. 

"On the morning of the 27th of July, 1777, Miss 
McCrea and Mrs. McNeal were in the latter's house at 
Fort Edward, preparing to set out for Fort Miller for 
greater security, as rumours had been rife of Indians in the 
vicinity. Their action was the result of a message sent to 
them early in the morning by General Arnold, who had, 
at the same time, despatched for their assistance Lieu- 
tenant Palmer, with some twenty men, with orders to 
place their furniture and effects on board a bateau, and 
row the family down to Fort Miller. 

" Lieutenant Palmer, having been informed by Mrs. 



1 82 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

McNeal that nearly all her household goods had been put 
on board the bateau, remarked that he, with the soldiers, 
was going up the hill as far as an old blockhouse, for the 
purpose of reconnoitring, but would not be long absent. 
The lieutenant and his party, however, not returning, 
Mrs. NcNeal and Jane McCrea concluded not to wait 
longer, but to ride on horseback to Colonel McCrea's ferry, 
leaving the further loading of the boat to the charge of a 
black servant. When the horses, however, were brought 
up to the door, it was found that one side-saddle was miss- 
ing, and a boy was accordingly despatched to the house of 
a Mr. Gillis for the purpose of borrowing a side-saddle or 
pillion. 

" While watching for the boy's return Mrs. McNeal heard 
a discharge of firearms, and looking out of the window, 
saw one of Lieutenant Palmer's soldiers running along the 
military road toward the fort, pursued by several Indians. 
The fugitive, seeing Mrs. McNeal, waved his hat as a signal 
of danger, and passed on ; which the Indians perceiving, 
left off the pursuit, and came toward the house. 

" Seeing their intention, Mrs. McNeal screamed, ' Get 
down cellar for your lives ! ' On this, Jane McCrea and 
the black woman, Eve, with her infant, retreated safely to 
the cellar ; but Mrs. McNeal was caught on the stairs by the 
Indians, and dragged back by the hair of her head, by 
a powerful savage, who was addressed by his companions 
as Wyandot Panther. A search in the cellar was then 
begun, and the result was the discovery of Jane McCrea, 
who was brought up from her concealment, Wyandot 
exclaiming upon seeing her, ' My squaw, me find um 
agin — me keep um fast now, forebet, ugh ! ' 

"By this time the soldiers had arrived at the fort, the 




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THE INVASION BY JOHN BURGOYNE 1 83 

alarm drum was beaten, and a party of soldiers started in 
pursuit. Alarmed by the noise of the drum — which they, 
in common with Mrs. McNeal and Jenny heard — the 
Indians, after a hurried consultation, hastily lifted the two 
women upon the horses, which had been waiting at the 
door, to carry them to Colonel McCrea's ferry, and 
started off upon a run. Mrs. McNeal, however, having 
been placed upon the horse on which there was no saddle, 
slipped off and was thereupon carried in the arms of a 
stalwart savage. 

"At this point, Mrs. McNeal lost sight of her companion, 
who, to use the language of Mrs. McNeal, 'was there 
ahead of me, and appeared to be firmly seated upon the 
saddle, and held the rein, while several Indians seemed to 
guard her ; Wyandot still ascending the hill, and pulling 
along by bridle-bit the affrighted horse upon which poor 
Jenny rode.' The Indians, however, when halfway up 
the hill, were nearly overtaken by the soldiers, who, at 
this point, began firing by platoons. At every discharge 
the Indians would fall flat with Mrs. McNeal. By the 
time the top of Fort Edward hill had been gained, not an 
Indian was harmed ; and one of them remarked to Mrs. 
McNeal, ' Wagh ! um no kill — um shoot too much high 
for hit' During the firing, two or three bullets of the 
pursuing party hit Miss McCrea with a fatal effect ; who, 
falling from her horse, had her scalp torn off by the 
guide, the Wyandot Panther, in revenge for the loss of 
the reward given by Burgoyne for any white prisoner — 
a reward considered equal to a barrel of rum. 

" Mrs. McNeal, however, was carried to Griffith's house, 
and there kept by the Indians until the next day, when 
she was ransomed and taken to the British camp. 



184 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

"'I never saw Jenny afterward,' says Mrs. McNeal, 
'nor anything that appertained to her person, until my 
arrival in the British camp, when an aide-de-camp showed 
me a fresh scalp-lock which I could not mistake, because 
the hair was unusually fine, luxuriant, lustrous, and dark as 
the wing of a raven. Till that evidence of her death was 
exhibited, I hoped, almost against hope, that poor Jenny 
had either been rescued by our pursuers [in whose army 
her brother, Stephen McCrea, was a surgeon] or brought 
by our captors to some part of the British encampment.' 

" While at Griffith's house, Mrs. McNeal endeavoured to 
hire an Indian, named Captain Tommo, to go back and 
search for her companion ; but neither he nor any of the 
Indians could be prevailed upon to venture even as far 
back as the brow of the Fort Edward hill, to look down it 
for the 'white squaw,' as they called Jenny. 

" The remains of Miss McCrea were gathered up by those 
who would have rescued her, and buried, together with 
those of Lieutenant Palmer, under the supervision of Colo- 
nel Morgan Lewis [then deputy quartermaster-general] on 
the bank of the creek, three miles south of Fort Edward, 
and two miles south of her brother John McCrea's farm, 
which was across the Hudson, and directly opposite the 
principal encampment of General Schuyler." 

Shortly after this time, hardly realizing the state of 
feeling among the scattered people, who Burgoyne fondly 
hoped would flock to him, with the double purpose of secur- 
ing supplies and of striking a blow at New England, he 
decided to use his Hessians, who, the Americans claimed, 
were especially good at " foraging," in an attack upon Ben- 
nington. So Colonel Baum, with a force of about one thou- 
sand men, made up of Hessians, Indians, Canadians, and 



THE INVASION BY JOHN BURGOYNE l8$ 

Tories, with a goodly supply of Tory guides from the vicin- 
ity, started to do Burgoyne's will. Confident that there 
were many Tories in the region, who would rally to his 
aid at his approach, and with strong reinforcements of 
Hessians under the command of Breyman following him, 
and never dreaming that the "peasants" would stand before 
his cannon or well-drilled soldiers, the Hessian leader was 
hopeful that prisoners and spoils would soon be his. 



CHAPTER XX 



BENNINGTON 



Colonel John Stark was a New Hampshire man, 
strong and rugged as the great hills he had seen from his 
boyhood, and almost as immovable as they in his sturdy 
independence. He had been a soldier in the French and 
Indian War, and had borne a sturdy part in the fights at 
Bunker Hill and at Trenton and Princeton. When Con- 
gress had appointed the new generals, Stark had been 
passed over just as Benedict Arnold had been, and like 
Arnold he, too, had withdrawn in anger and disgust from 
the contest. Neither man, however, had been able to stop 
fighting, so strong was the hatred of each for the invading 
redcoats, and so keen was the desire to protect the country 
from the Indians. 

So when New Hampshire placed him in command of a 
force, although this action might only serve to increase the 
jealous feelings of the colonies, Stark quickly responded, 
eager not only to harass Burgoyne, but also to show that 
he could have a share in the struggle in spite of Congress. 

When he arrived at Manchester (Vermont), he found 
a large body of his fellow-countrymen there, who, though 
they were nominally under the command of Lincoln, 
whom Schuyler had sent there, yet shared with the 
doughty colonel much of his own feeling ; and when Lin- 
coln informed him of Schuyler's order to march to join 

1 86 



BENNINGTON 1 87 

him, Stark replied that he did not receive orders from 
any one as to where he should go. So leaving Lincoln at 
Manchester with six hundred men, he himself with his 
own immediate followers pushed rapidly on to Bennington, 
resolved to protect the stores at that place. 

Stark, however, had a strong feeling of regard for 
Schuyler, and had no real intention of leaving the desper- 
ate general in his trouble. Indeed, he had his men under 
arms, and was just about to set forth to join Schuyler, 
when a woman came running to him with word that Ind- 
ians were all about the adjoining town. 

Instantly the colonel sent two hundred men to quiet the 
Indians ; but they soon sent word to him that behind the 
savages was a large Hessian force which evidently was 
moving toward Bennington. Word was swiftly sent to 
Lincoln at Manchester to come to Stark's aid, and the fol- 
lowing day Stark himself moved out toward the place by 
which it was said the Hessians were approaching. A 
skirmish soon followed, for he found the report to be true ; 
and Colonel Baum speedily halted and began to erect 
defences on a hill near the Walloomsac River, and sent 
word to the Hessians who were following to make all haste 
to come to his aid. 

The next day was too rainy for an attack, so the picks 
and shovels of the Germans were used all the time in 
fashioning Baum's redoubts. Colonel Stark was, however, 
strengthened by the arrival of bodies of militia from west- 
ern Massachusetts who were eager to fight. Indeed, so 
eager were they that, in response to the complaint of a 
preacher, who, with the men of his congregation, had has- 
tened to the defence of Bennington, that they never were 
given any fighting to do, no matter how often they might 



1 88 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

be called out, Colonel Stark said, "If the Lord should 
give us sunshine once more, and I do not give you fighting 
enough, I will never ask you to turn out again." 

On the following day " the Lord gave the desired sun- 
shine," and Stark provided all the fighting the Berkshire 
men desired. At noon (August 16, 1777) Stark formed 
his men for an advance upon the little hill where the Hes- 
sians had entrenched themselves. In small companies of a 
half dozen or more, he had been sending men around to 
the opposite side of this hill ; but the Hessians had given 
them no heed. Perhaps they thought they were the long- 
expected Tories who were to come to their aid. 

It was a serious problem that confronted the untrained 
men with Stark. The Hessians were holding strong en- 
trenchments, they had cannon, and the soldiers were looked 
upon as among the best troops of all Europe ; yet when 
the rough colonel, pointing his sword at the hill, shouted 
to his men : " There, my lads, are the Hessians ! To-night 
our flag floats over yonder hill or Molly Stark is a widow," 
not a man in the ranks flinched. 

About the middle of the afternoon the souna of guns 
came from the rear of the hill, and this signal for the be- 
ginning of the fight caused the men in the front, in the 
rear, and on the flanks to rush forward together in an 
assault. Closer and closer came the men ; the fire became 
hotter and hotter. Baum and his men were fighting 
bravely, but the determined Yankees could not be held 
back, much less driven back. 

Why did not Breyman come to their aid ? Would the 
darkness never fall to put an end to the fight ? For a 
moment the guns of the brave but disheartened Hessians 
were silent, and instantly the Americans climbed over the 
breastworks and rushed upon the enemy. 



BENNINGTON 1 89 

But the Hessians were not yet ready to give up. Cast- 
ing aside their guns, and drawing the heavy, short broad- 
swords with which every soldier was equipped, they fought 
hand to hand. Slowly Stark's men forced them backward, 
until what was left of the force broke and fled. 

Apparently the fight had been won ; and the victorious 
Americans, without a thought of the oncoming force under 
Breyman, were eagerly seizing the plunder or looking 
after the wounded and the prisoners, when suddenly the 
fresh band of Hessians appeared upon the scene. 

For a moment it seemed as if the victory the Yankees 
had won was to be lost, for the tired Yankee militiamen were 
quickly forced backward ; but just at that time Colonel 
Warner and his men arrived from Manchester, and threw 
themselves with all their strength into the struggle. The 
cannon taken from Baum were now turned upon the front 
of Breyman's column, while sharp-shooters with deadly aim 
were pouring their fire into his ranks from the flanks. 
Foot by foot the desperate Hessians gave way. Horses fell 
in their traces, the roar of the cannon was unceasing, and the 
pop of the rifles did not cease. Darkness was fast coming 
on, and before the fierce onslaught which the Americans 
now made the lines at last broke and the Hessians fled. 

For a brief time the victors pursued them, but almost 
worn out by the heat and strain of the double battle, they 
soon returned to count their spoils and to rejoice together 
over the battle won. Four cannon, 700 prisoners, 1000 
stand of arms, and 1000 dragoon swords of the enemy had 
come into their possession ; and 207 of the fallen Hessians 
lay dead or wounded upon the field. The Americans had 
protected their stores, and lost only 14 killed and had only 
42 wounded. 



190 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

The effect of the battle was almost electric. Instantly 
the courage and zeal of the patriots seemed to return ; 
while Burgoyne, disappointed, wondering where his Tory 
allies were to come from and how he was to obtain supplies 
for his army, — his Indian allies beginning rapidly to leave 
him, — changed his position and began to question whether 
after all the despised peasants were conquered or not, and 
if it might not be possible that Britons did sometimes 
retreat. 



CHAPTER XXI 

IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY 

Meanwhile, before we follow further the fortunes of 
Burgoyne, it will be necessary for us to turn our attention 
to some of the exciting experiences of the desperate 
patriots in the Mohawk Valley. Colonel Barry St. Leger 
with his force of redcoats had departed from Montreal, 
and after passing up the St. Lawrence River, and with few 
thoughts we may be sure of the beauties of the Thousand 
Islands as his fleet of bateaux, skiffs, and canoes passed 
them, had arrived at Oswego. The number of his fol- 
lowers had been greatly increased by the arrival of the 
Indians under the command of Brant, or Thayendanegea, 
as he was commonly called among the Mohawks, and Sir 
John Johnson with a band of "Johnson's Royal Greens," 
as the Tories who had left the Mohawk Valley and gone 
to Canada were known. 

Brant was probably the most intelligent Indian of that 
day in the New World. He was a chief, and the son of a 
chief who rejoiced in the unpronounceable name of Tehow- 
aghwengaraghkwin, and had been educated at Dr. Wheel- 
ock's school, which afterward became Dartmouth College. 
He was a bitter foe of the Americans, believing as he did 
that by siding with British in the struggle he would most 
effectually aid his own people in retaining their homes 
and hunting-grounds. 

191 



192 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Sir John Johnson was the son of Sir William Johnson, 
one of the largest landowners and most intense Tories in 
all the region. He had been active ever since the war 
had broken out, and now believed that the time had come 
when he could strike most heavily for King George upon 
the scattered and " obstinate " Whigs of the valley, who 
had steadily refused to listen to his calls. 

When St. Leger arrived at Oswego, he had altogether a 
force of seventeen hundred men ; and early in August he 
left the fort, and, advancing by the way of Oneida Lake, 
moved upon Fort Stanwix, or Fort Schuyler as it was 
called, which stood where now is the city of Rome, New 
York. 

In command of this fort was a young colonel, Peter 
Gansevoort, one of the most sterling of the American 
soldiers ; and with him was a little garrison of a few hun- 
dred men to attempt to hold the fort and withstand the 
greater force of St. Leger. Colonel Gansevoort had been 
busy trying to strengthen his post, which after all was but 
a rude and feeble affair, and when a captured spy and the 
runners of the friendly Oneida Indians brought him word 
of the approach of his enemies he was really in no condi- 
tion either to withstand a siege or engage in battle with 
St. Leger' s advancing host. 

The first real knowledge the men in the fort had of the 
nearness of the redcoats and redskins came one day when 
two soldiers of the garrison, without the permission of the 
commanding officer, had gone into the forest to shoot some 
of the wild pigeons that were passing in such clouds that 
it is said at times they even shut out the light of the sun. 
With them the two men had taken their dog, and this 
faithful animal had suddenly appeared before two boys 



IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY 1 93 

who were fishing in Wood Creek, and by his frantic leaps 
and barking induced them to follow him into the woods, 
where they discovered the men stretched upon the 
ground, both scalped ; one dead, and the other apparently 
just alive. 

Assistance was speedily obtained from the garrison ; 
but every one now knew who were in the adjacent forests, 
and what must be expected soon. 

St. Leger and his entire force were soon before the 
feeble walls of the old fort ; and while the leader sent a de- 
mand for its surrender, he also caused to be distributed 
throughout the region copies of his remarkable procla- 
mation, which, though it promised protection to all who 
accepted his terms of peace, threatened the direst punish- 
ment upon those who still remained obstinate. He was to 
learn, however, as Burgoyne was already learning, that the 
hardy Americans were in no mood to be terrified by high- 
sounding words, or even by the threat of letting loose the 
terrible Indians upon them. 

Colonel Gansevoort curtly refused the demand for sur- 
render, though he was in dire straits at the time. His 
men were few in number, provisions were low, and am- 
munition was scanty ; while worse than any or all of these 
things was the presence of traitors inside the walls. One 
of these, Sam Geake, had been sent by Sir Henry Clinton 
from Poughkeepsie, and was to obtain all the information 
he could secure within the fort, and at the same time try to 
induce the men to rebel against their young colonel, and 
throw open the gates of the fort rather than " be butchered 
like sheep within a pen from which there was no hope of 
escape." 

Colonel Gansevoort had been greatly cheered by the 



194 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

arrival of Colonel Willett with a few reinforcements, but 
still all told he had only about 750 men with whom he was 
expected to keep off St. Leger's force of more than twice 
that number ; but what the young officer lacked in men and 
means he seemed to have made up in courage, and with 
a boldness that in part was only apparent, not real, he 
prepared to resist the siege which began strongly on 
August 4th. 

During this time the militia and the bold Whig farmers 
of the valley had been assembling at the call of sturdy old 
General Herkimer. At first the people of the region had 
been almost terror-stricken by the report of the dual inva- 
sion of Burgoyne and St. Leger ; but with the " procla- 
mations " and the actual presence of the enemy they had 
rallied, and with about eight hundred men General Herki- 
mer set forth from Fort Dayton to march to the aid of the 
sadly beset garrison behind the walls of Fort Schuyler. 
His men were bold enough, but they knew almost nothing 
of military science. They had rifles and muskets and 
plenty of courage; but other additional things were to be 
required before a victory could be won, as they soon learned 
to their sorrow. 

The plan was to move up near the fort, and when Colonel 
Gansevoort should be informed of their coming, by the 
scouts Herkimer sent ahead, then the garrison was to 
attack at the same time when Herkimer's men moved 
forward ; and under the confusion, which it was believed 
the combined attacks would produce, then the men could at 
least make their way into the fort to the aid of their 
friends, if they could do nothing more. 

Accordingly, Herkimer halted a few miles from the fort, 
and sent forward his scouts ; but the latter were delayed 



IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY 1 95 

when they found the investing army larger and closer than 
they had expected, and the slow hours passed, and still the 
signal guns of Fort Schuyler were not heard. The restless 
soldiers became impatient, and demanded that Herkimer 
should lead them forward, whether the guns were heard or 
not. For a time the wise old officer (he declared he was like 
their father, and would not lead his children into needless 
peril) was able to stave off the demand. Then the men 
became angry and declared that their general was afraid ; 
and at last, stung to the quick, he gave the desired com- 
mand, and the terrible march was begun. 

Of course the Indians had learned of Herkimer's ap- 
proach, and under the direction of Brant they and the 
Royal Greens had concealed themselves in a long line along 
the sides of a narrow ravine near Oriskany. Without a 
thought of their peril, the careless patriots marched on to 
the narrow log causeway that crossed the ravine, and in a 
moment the yells of the Indians and the rifles of the hidden 
Greens sounded together. 

Some of the startled, terrified Whigs turned and fled, and 
did not stop running before they had gained the shelter of 
the little fort where Utica now stands ; but the most of 
them speedily recovered their wits, and then began the 
most bloody and terrible fight of all the war of the Revolu- 
tion. Face to face and arm to arm the men fought. 
Neighbour fought against neighbour. Guns were dis- 
charged, then clubbed ; and knives and fists were used 
until the struggling, shrieking mass of men seemed almost 
like a band of contending demons. 

General Herkimer had been shot in the thigh, but the 
brave old man seated himself on the ground, and lighting 
his pipe, and with his back against a tree, still gave forth 



196 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

his orders. The patriots soon formed themselves into 
little circles, and almost back to back fought the oncoming 
foe. 

The couriers by this time had arrived at the fort, and 
their words, as well as the sounds of the distant guns, at 
once informed Gansevoort of what was going on. Quickly 
he sent Colonel Willett with a force to fall upon a part of 
the near-by Tory camp. A terrific thunder-shower, so severe 
that even the men fighting at Oriskany were compelled to 
pause in their struggle, kept him back ; but as soon as the 
torrent ceased, Willett advanced and fell furiously upon the 
enemy's camp. So furious was his charge that the Tories 
and Indians there broke and fled, and twenty-one wagon- 
loads of spoils, as well as the papers of Sir John Johnson 
and five British standards, fell into the hands of Willett, 
who hastened back to Fort Schuyler without the loss of a 
man. No cause for wonder is it that for his gallant deed 
Congress afterward presented him with a beautiful sword. 

The sounds of Willett's attack had been heard by the 
Tories and Indians at Oriskany, and instantly they knew 
what they meant. The Americans also knew, and were 
fighting with renewed desperation. Soon the Indians 
broke and fled, and their weird cry of defeat, " Oonah ! 
Oonah ! " resounded through the forest. Neither side had 
won; for though the Americans held the field, they had not 
been able to advance to the relief of Fort Schuyler. They 
had lost two hundred men, among whom was General 
Herkimer, for a few days afterward the old soldier died of 
his wound. Colonel Gansevoort was still holding his fort, 
however, though against terrible odds. He could not even 
have heard what the result of the battle at Oriskany had 
been, though he had a terrible fear that it had not been won, 



IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY 1 97 

since his friends did not come to his aid. The very next 
morning St. Leger, striving to take advantage of the igno- 
rance of the men in the fort, sent a letter demanding its 
surrender, and also declared that not only had Oriskany 
been won, but also that Burgoyne at that very time had 
possession of Albany. 

Of course Gansevoort did not know how true the claim 
might be, but he had no thought of surrendering ; and 
Colonel Willett, face to face with the messenger in the pres- 
ence of Colonel Gansevoort, in his anger said : " Do I under- 
stand you, sir ? I think you say that you come from a Brit- 
ish colonel who is commander of the army that invests this 
fort ; and by your uniform you appear to be an officer in 
the British service. You have made a long speech on the 
occasion of your visit, which, stripped of all its superflui- 
ties, amounts to this — that you come from a British colo- 
nel to the commandant of this garrison, to tell him that, if 
he does not deliver up the garrison into the hands of your 
colonel, he will send his Indians to murder our women and 
children. You will please to reflect, sir, that their blood 
will be upon your heads, not upon ours. We are doing 
our duty ; this garrison is committed to our charge, and we 
will take care of it. After you get out of it, you may turn 
round and look at its outside ; but never expect to come in 
again, unless you come a prisoner. I consider the message 
you have brought a degrading one for a British officer to 
send, and by no means reputable for a British officer to 
carry. For my own part, I declare, before I would con- 
sent to deliver this garrison to such a murdering set as 
your army, by your own accounts, consists of, I would 
suffer my body to be filled with splinters and set on 
fire, as you know has at times been practised by such 



I98 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

hordes of women and children killers as belong to your 
army." 

Perhaps it is needless to state that Fort Schuyler was not 
surrendered. Indeed, it was then that for the first time 
the new American flag of the stars and stripes was un- 
furled ; for, making a flag of strips of their white shirts, 
strips of scarlet flannel forming the red, and the blue of a 
cloak which one of the captains in the fort (Captain Abra- 
ham Swartout) had previously captured from a British 
officer, forming the ground, a rude but true flag soon defi- 
antly floated from the walls. We shall have more to say 
of the flag of our country, but the action of the men at 
Fort Schuyler in August, 1777, is worthy of mention here. 

So the siege was renewed, and the desperate defenders 
did not surrender, for they did not know how. Food was 
very scarce, ammunition was almost gone, and messengers 
had been sent to General Schuyler piteously begging for 
aid. For days the siege continued, and then suddenly and 
unexpectedly the enemy fled, leaving their very tents 
standing, and their guns in the trenches. 

It was August 22d, 1777. For a moment the brave 
young colonel knew not what to make of it ; but soon he 
learned the true state of affairs, and was quick to act. 

It seems that General Schuyler, although his own force 
was too small, with enemies in his ranks worse than the foe 
before him, was nevertheless desirous of sending aid to brave 
Colonel Gansevoort. When, however, he suggested such 
a plan, his own followers called him a traitor, and declared 
he was trying to weaken his own army so that Burgoyne 
might the more easily conquer it. Calmly Philip Schuyler 
bore the abuse and insults, and then inquired which briga- 
dier would lead a division to the aid of Fort Schuyler. 






i 








' -T--^u'- " 






'• 









J 



IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY 1 99 

Not one responded until Benedict Arnold impulsively 
declared that he would go ; and go he did. 

Swiftly his men advanced up the Mohawk Valley, meet- 
ing Colonel Willett and a companion officer on the way, 
whom Gansevoort had at last sent with a final despairing 
appeal for aid, fearful every hour that news would be re- 
ceived that the fort had fallen. At last they arrived at Fort 
Dayton, and what occurred there is thus related in the 
"Annals of Oneida County," by Pomroy Jones : — 

"Arnold received information that there was to be a 
gathering of Tories at Shoemaker's, one of the King's Jus- 
tices of the Peace, on the south side of the Mohawk, a few 
miles above, and Colonel Willett, who was at the time at 
Fort Dayton, was despatched with a competent force to 
arrest them. Colonel Willett and his party arrived, and 
surrounded Shoemaker's in the night-time, and made 
prisoners of the whole party, some twenty in number, and 
they were soon lodged in Fort Dayton. Among the num- 
ber was Hanyost Schuyler, one of the coarsest and most 
ignorant specimens of humanity to be found in the valley ; 
and yet a large share of shrewdness and low cunning [was] 
interwoven in his character. He had been so notorious as 
a spy, that a drumhead court-martial, which was called the 
next day for his trial, had no difficulty in pronouncing him 
guilty, and he was sentenced to be hanged on the follow- 
ing morning. . . . 

"The mother and brother of Hanyost resided at Little 
Falls ; and, having heard of his capture and sentence, lost 
no time in applying to Arnold to spare his life. The gen- 
eral was, however, inexorable. Major Brooks of Larned's 
brigade, perceiving the posture of affairs, and believing 
that some capital might be made out of the spy, went to 



200 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

General Arnold and stated his scheme to him. General 
Arnold, warned by the fate of General Herkimer, and fear- 
ing his force insufficient to raise the siege, the more readily 
agreed to resort to stratagem. The plan concocted was 
this : Hanyost was to be suffered to escape from the guard- 
house, and his life spared, on condition that he should 
repair to the Indian and Tory camps in the vicinity of 
Fort Stanwix, and by an exaggerated account of Arnold's 
force induce them to desert their leader in sufficient num- 
bers to cause St. Leger to raise the siege. If he failed, 
his brother, who consented to remain in Arnold's camp as 
a hostage, was to grace the same noose which had been 
prepared for Hanyost. All having been arranged, Arnold 
and Brooks went out, and related the particulars of the 
plan in the presence and hearing of the sentinel at the door 
of the guard-house ; and after they were through, Arnold, 
with a significant look, asked the sentinel if he knew his 
duty, to which the latter gave an affirmative reply. After 
dark Hanyost made his escape from the guard-house, the 
sentinel being cautious not to fire the alarm until the 
double traitor had time to get beyond the reach of pursuit. 
Then the alarm was given, the guard turned out in the 
pursuit, but without avail. All who were not in the secret 
regretted that such an arrant villain should have escaped 
the just doom that awaited him. 

"The life of his brother for this once caused Hanyost to 
be true to his country, and he fulfilled his contract to the 
letter. An Oneida Indian had also been let into the secret, 
who cheerfully embarked in the enterprise. Hanyost, who 
was acquainted with many of St. Leger's Indians, upon his 
arrival in their camp told a most piteous story of his hav- 
ing been taken by the rebels, and of his escape from being 



IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY 201 

hanged ; and also showed them several holes through his 
coat, made by bullets which, he said, were fired at him 
when he made his escape. 

" Well acquainted with Indian character, he communi- 
cated his intelligence to them in a mysterious and imposing 
manner. When asked as to the number of men with 
Arnold, he shook his head and pointed upward to the 
leaves of the trees ; and upon being further questioned, he 
said the number of Arnold's men could not be less than 
ten thousand. 

" This news soon spread through the camps. At this 
juncture the Oneida [Indian] arrived, and confirmed 
Hanyost's statement. On his way he had fallen in with 
two or three Oneida Indians of his acquaintance, who 
readily engaged in furthering his design, and these, drop- 
ping into the camp one after another, as if by accident, 
spoke of the great number of warriors marching against 
them. They also stated that the Americans did not wish 
to injure the Indians, but if they continued with the Brit- 
ish, they must all share one common fate. By these 
means, alarm and consternation were thoroughly spread 
among the whole body of Indians, and they resolved upon 
immediate flight. St. Leger did all in his power to pre- 
vent their leaving at this critical juncture, but in 
vain. As a last resort, he tried to get them drunk ; but 
the dram bottle had lost all its charms, and they refused to 
drink. 

" After he had failed in every attempt, he tried to per- 
suade them to fall into the rear and form a covering 
party to his army, and they charged him with a design of 
sacrificing his red allies to the safety of the whites. In a 
mixture of rage and despair, St. Leger immediately 



202 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

ordered the siege to be raised, and with his entire force 
of regulars, Tories and Indians, he withdrew in such haste 
as to leave his tents standing, abandoning all his artillery ; 
and some accounts state that they left their dinners cooking 
over their camp-fires. 

"The Oneida Indian, it seems, had a spice of the wag in 
his composition, for he followed in the rear, and occa 
sionally raised the cry, ' They are coming ! They are com- 
ing ! ' for his own diversion in seeing the redcoats take a 
foot-race ; and the retreating army never felt entirely safe 
until fairly embarked on the Oneida Lake. 

" Hanyost kept with St. Leger's army on the retreat, until 
it arrived at the mouth of Wood Creek, when he returned 
to Fort Stanwix and gave Colonel Gansevoort the first in- 
telligence of the approach of General Arnold's command. 
From thence he returned to Fort Dayton, and having ful- 
filled, on his part, every part and parcel of the contract, 
his brother was at once discharged. His principles had, 
however, undergone no change ; he was still a Tory, and, 
Balaam-like, soon after rejoined the British standard, 
attaching himself to the forces of Sir John Johnson. 
After the peace of 1783, Hanyost came back and resided 
in the valley of the Mohawk. He was well known by 
some of the first settlers in Westmoreland, and was repre- 
sented by them as a low, coarse, and apparently a very 
stupid being." 

So Fort Schuyler was saved by the stratagem, and 
Gansevoort and his brave men were safe. Arnold and his 
followers hastened back to join Schuyler's army, which 
now was no longer Schuyler's, for Congress stupidly had 
listened to the bitter words spoken against the noble man, 
and now the petty little dandy Gates was in command of 



IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY 203 

the northern army, which was soon to face new problems 
and new perils. 

Six days after the flight of Barry St. Leger, word of his 
failure was brought Burgoyne ; and once more the pompous 
general was to learn that Britons do indeed sometimes 
retreat. 



CHAPTER XXII 

burgoyne's surrender 

The plight of Burgoyne's army was really becoming 
serious by this time, although the rustic soldiers who were 
before him hardly recognized their own strength. Arnold, 
as we have learned, had been sent to the aid of the patriots, 
and his dash and daring, which were greatly admired by 
his comrades, added much to the courage of the men. 
Lincoln was in the rear of Burgoyne's army, and the men of 
New England were daily coming to join him, and do what 
they could to cut off the retreat of the British or harass 
them in the rear. " Morgan's Riflemen " along with other 
regiments had also come to the aid of the northern army, 
and their rifles were to play no small part in the events 
that followed the fight at Bennington. 

Most of the soldiers believed in General Gates, and 
when, on September 9th, he moved the American army up 
to Stillwater, within ten or twelve miles of the British 
lines, they plucked up fresh courage. They of course did 
not know it, but the great peril in the American army 
at the time was the ill-feeling between Gates and Arnold ; 
the former being jealous and angry that his comrade-in- 
arms should openly side with Philip Schuyler, and the 
latter having a very slight opinion of the ability of the 
commander of the northern army. Four days after this 
move of the Americans, Burgoyne made a bridge of boats 

204 



BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER 205 

across the Hudson, and r ^ssed over to the opposite shore ; 
while uprT>n Bemis Heights the Yankee soldiers, under the 
direction of Kosciusko, who had come across the sea to 
their aid when he heard the story of the struggle for inde- 
pendence, held a strongly fortified position. 

Burgoyne was becoming desperate. The way of retreat, 
which he had striven to keep open, though he did not 
dream of using it, was now blocked, no help from New 
York had come up the Hudson (for reasons which we shall 
soon learn), and like the sturdy man that he was, he deter- 
mined to try to attack his foe. Of course both sides were 
busy all this time, neither feeling just sure of what the 
other was doing, and Morgan's sharpshooters were badly 
bothering the redcoats, and at this time, when they dis- 
covered what Burgoyne was ardently trying to do, they 
sent an urgent word to Gates for more men to be sent to 
meet the enemy. But General Gates wanted the British 
to attack him in the position where he felt strong, and 
had no desire to do the attacking himself. 

However, when Gates learned that a battle had actually 
been begun, and that the astonished John Burgoyne, instead 
of making the attack, was himself receiving one, he sent 
a few men at a time to help the fighting Americans ; but 
he refused to leave the position he held, or to let Arnold 
go into the fight. At first, the battle had gone in 
favour of the Americans. Their men, firing from behind 
bushes and trees, had created great havoc among the 
scarlet-clad enemy, and Arnold had become so angry that 
at last Gates consented to his demand for permission to 
lead the patriots in their struggle. 

The British were now strengthened by the approach of 
Fraser and Riedesel, and Arnold sent back word to Gates 



206 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

begging for two thousand mer to come to his aid, de- 
claring that with them he could win the battle and drive 
back the invaders ; but Gates refused to heed the call, and 
when, after several hours of terrible fighting, darkness 
ended the struggle, each side claimed the victory, though 
the real advantage seems to have been with the Americans. 
The sharpshooters had made dreadful havoc among the 
men of each side, and though the accounts of the losses 
do not agree, it is probable that each side lost nearly, if 
not fully, five hundred men. Certainly the British loss was 
as great as that. 

By many this battle of Bemis Heights is called Free- 
man's Farm, which perhaps is the more accurate title, as 
Gates was all the time on Bemis Heights, and certainly he 
did no fighting ; yet when he sent the account of the 
battle to Congress he took all the credit of it to him- 
self, and never once referred to Benedict Arnold or the 
part he had taken. Surely it did almost seem as if 
America had conspired against this proud, ill-tempered, 
but brave man. The soldiers knew of the truth, however ; 
but Gates and Arnold almost threatened the welfare of 
the army more than did Burgoyne, so savage and brutal 
was the continuous quarrel between them that followed. 

For more than two weeks nothing was done, though 
Arnold was eager to have Gates follow up the attack at 
once. Burgoyne's troubles were increasing, and the Whigs 
under Lincoln were doing great damage behind him in 
cutting off men, seizing supplies, and holding the region. 
When they tried to take Ticonderoga, however, they 
failed, although they did just what the British had done a 
few weeks before — dragged cannon up the sides of Mount 
Defiance ; but St. Clair was not in command of the fort 



BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER 207 

at this time, and the British there would not give up and 
could not be taken. 

Supplies in Burgoyne's army were very low now, and it 
almost seemed as if starvation would compel him to give 
up the struggle. Still, hoping that aid would come from 
Clinton, John Burgoyne once more resolved to try to fight 
his way through the " peasants " in front of him, who now 
numbered sixteen thousand men. Sending a picked force 
of his best men forward, they were told to retreat if they 
found they must ; but they could discover whether the 
Americans would fight or not, or at least they could help the 
men who had gone out to forage. Very soon they discovered 
that the Americans would fight, and that no forage could 
be secured. 

There was a terrific, short engagement, and then the 
British under Fraser fell back, but rallied again on the 
borders of this same farm (Freeman's) where the other 
battle had occurred. Benedict Arnold, who had been 
watching the struggle, now could restrain himself no longer. 
He leaped upon the back of his horse, and rode like the wind 
to the battle-ground. How the men did cheer and shout 
when they saw him in their midst ! Just at this time Mor- 
gan had pointed out General Fraser to some of his best 
shots, and said, " That man must die." Soon the brave 
man was carried from the field, having received his death 
wound. 

His fall seemed to deprive his men of their hope. They 
fell back, or were pushed back, fighting desperately all the 
time, until at last they were once more behind their own 
entrenchments ; but the Americans, led by Arnold, made 
such desperate efforts to enter that soon that ground was 
won. 



208 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

A Hessian soldier, wounded and lying on the ground, 
had fired at Arnold as the latter dashed over him ; and 
the ball had killed the horse, and broke the bone of the 
same leg which had been hurt so badly at Quebec. One 
of Arnold's men, when he saw the general fall, rushed 
forward to drive his bayonet into the body of the Hes- 
sian ; but at Arnold's own request the life of the man was 
spared. 

On the following day Burgoyne got his disheartened 
men together and started for Saratoga, where the people, 
hearing of his coming, set fire to such of their possessions 
as they could not take with them in their flight. The wife 
of Philip Schuyler had set the example by herself burning 
the fields of wheat on her farms, upon which the buildings 
also were soon afterward burned by the redcoats. 

The British army was now completely surrounded. 
Supplies were so low that the food of each man was re- 
duced, but still no word came from Clinton. Yet Clinton 
had set forth with his force from New York City, and at this 
very time was advancing up the Hudson. He had taken 
two forts, compelled General Putnam and his men to leave 
others, and now the British could come by boat from New 
York to Albany. 

On a little slip of paper Clinton wrote to Burgoyne, 
October 8th : " I sincerely hope this success of ours will 
facilitate your operations." This note he secured in a little 
silver bullet, and gave to a messenger to carry to Bur- 
goyne. Clinton's force on the following day landed and set 
fire to Kingston, which the governor of New York, whose 
name also was Clinton [George], hastened to help, but he 
arrived too late, though he was in time, however, to seize 
this messenger, who was seen to swallow something as he 



BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER 209 

was captured. Governor Clinton turned physician for the 
moment, and compelled the prisoner to swallow an emetic, 
when up came the bullet, which was speedily opened, and 
the note was found. The prisoner was hanged from a 
branch of a near-by tree, and it is needless to state that 
John Burgoyne did not receive the word of Sir Henry 
Clinton's coming. 

Constant skirmishing and firing were going on between 
the armies of Gates and Burgoyne. The British could do 
no more. They could not retreat, aid apparently was not 
coming, and so at last they surrendered October 17th, 1777* 
At first Gates had demanded an unconditional surrender, 
but to this Burgoyne would not yield. He would fight till 
he died rather than suffer such disgrace. Well aware of 
Clinton's movements, the Americans knew that no time 
was to be lost, so it was agreed that the British, after 
marching out of the camp with the honours of war, should 
be conducted to Boston, and there take ships for home, 
promising never to fight the Americans again. The offi- 
cers were also permitted to retain their side-arms. 

One of the papers of those days, following the prevail- 
ing tendency to write " poetry," thus describes the results 
gained : — 

THE CAPTURE AT SARATOGA 

Here followeth the direful fate 

Of Burgoyne and his army great, 

Who so proudly did display 

The terrors of despotic sway. 

His power and pride and many threats 

Have been brought low by fort'nate Gates 

To bend to the United States. 



210 



HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



British prisoners by convention . . . 

Foreigners by contravention .... 

Tories sent across the lake 

Burgoyne and his suite in state . . . 

Sick and wounded, bruised and pounded 

Ne'er so much before confounded . . 

Prisoners of war before convention . . 

Deserters come with kind intention 

They lose at Bennington's great battle 

Where Stark's glorious arms did rattle 

Killed in September and October . . 

Ta'en by brave Brown, some drunk, some sober, 

Slain by high-famed Herkimer . . . 

On both flanks, on rear and van . . . 

Indians, settlers, butchers, drovers, . . 

Enough to crowd large plains all over . 

And those whom grim health did prevent 

From fighting against our continent ; . 

And also those who stole away, . . . 

Lest they down their arms should lay . 

Abhorring that obnoxious day ; 

The whole make fourteen thousand men 

Who may not with us fight again . . 
This is a pretty just account 
Of Burgoyne's legions' whole amount, 
Who came across the northern lakes 
To desolate our happy states. 
Their brass cannon we have got all, 
Fifty-six — both great and small : 
And ten thousand stand of arms 
To prevent all future harms : 
Stores and implements complete, 
Of workmanship exceeding neat ; 
Covered wagons in great plenty, 
And proper harness no ways scanty. 
Among our prisoners there are 
Six generals of fame most rare ; 
Six members of their parliament 
Reluctantly they seem content ; 
Three British lords, and Lord Balcarras 
Who came our country free to harass. 



2442 

2198 

1 100 

12 



} 528 

400 
300 

1220 

600 
413 
300 



4413 



14000 



BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER 211 

Two baronets of high extraction 
Were early wounded in the action. 

The advance of John Burgoyne had not only been 
checked, but his entire force was made prisoners. The 
proud spirit of the leader was sadly humbled, but he was 
still too true a man not to acknowledge the courtesy that 
was shown him ; though after he arrived at Boston it is to 
be feared his captors were not so careful. Philip Schuyler 
had gone back to the army, though not as its commander ; 
and his calm, patient spirit, when he knew that others 
were receiving the credit for work which in fact he had 
himself done, was highly praised by the British, as was 
also the unfailing courtesy of Mistress Catherine Schuyler, 
who tried to make the prisoners with her feel as much as 
possible like guests. The letters of the Baroness de Reide- 
sel contain warm words of praise for this gentlewoman, 
and her memory is warmly cherished still. 

Naturally the new nation was highly elated over what 
had been done by the northern army ; and the praises of 
Gates were sung on every side. Indeed, what was known 
as the Conway Cabal was formed, consisting of some men 
who wanted to make him commander-in-chief in place of 
Washington. Some were afraid the war would be a fail- 
ure, others only wanted to make money, still others were 
eager for peace at any price; and the greatness of men 
like Philip Schuyler and George Washington, who not 
only had to face a skilful foe in the open field, but also to 
deal with many timid, cowardly, treacherous men at home, 
in the contrast seems all the greater. And George Wash- 
ington had been having his heart and hands full all this 
time, as the following chapter will explain. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN. THE STORY OF THE 

FLAG 

Washington and Greene, and, indeed, the greater 
number of the American generals, had expected that as a 
matter of course Howe would take a part of his army, at 
least, and move from New York up the Hudson, to join 
the forces of John Burgoyne. Just why he did not do this 
is still a matter of wonder ; but two reasons are given as the 
causes of his failure to move. One was the advice of his 
traitorous prisoner, Charles Lee, who was explaining to 
the British commander just how the rebellion could be 
crushed ; and the other was the report of the success which 
had attended the first actions of Burgoyne's invading army. 

When Fort Ticonderoga was abandoned by the Ameri- 
cans, without a gun having been fired in its defence, and 
when the American army fled as it did before the redcoats, 
very naturally Howe concluded that Burgoyne, with St. 
Leger's aid, would be able to take care of himself, and so 
he [Howe] would be free to follow out his own design, 
which was to seize the " rebel capital," Philadelphia. The 
fact that by seizing that town he would be between the 
southern and the northern colonies with his army, a divi- 
sion which the expected victorious advance of John Bur- 
goyne would also greatly aid, seems to have been the 
purpose in Howe's mind, for otherwise Philadelphia, as a 
centre of warlike operations, was not very important. 

212 



BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN 213 

Washington and his little army of only about ten thou- 
sand men were still in the highlands of New Jersey, and 
when in June, 1777, Howe, with a force of eighteen thou- 
sand men (Clinton had been left in New York with the 
rest of his army), started to march across New Jersey, 
Washington quickly moved down from his stronghold and 
took a position near New Brunswick, at Middlebrook. 
The place was too strong to be attacked, and yet the 
British did not dare to pass it and leave the "old fox," as 
Washington was called, with such a force behind them ; so 
Howe, after some skirmishing, took his army back to 
Staten Island. 

Once more the Americans thought that surely Howe 
would then go up the Hudson ; and Washington even 
changed the position he held so that he might follow him ; 
but still the British did not adopt the expected plan. The 
fleet of boats was kept continually moving and changing, so 
that at one time it seemed as if the British had started 
for Boston, then up the Hudson, and then again for 
Philadelphia. When Howe thought he had Washington 
completely puzzled, and the American army had been 
somewhat scattered, suddenly upon his fleet of 228 vessels 
he quickly embarked eighteen thousand men for Phila- 
delphia. To increase Washington's confusion still more, 
he wrote a letter to Burgoyne, in which he declared he was 
about to sail for Boston ; and the messenger who bore 
the letter was directed to fall into the hands of the 
Americans. This was a common device, and Washington 
himself employed the same method of puzzling his enemies, 
as we shall soon learn. 

However, General Washington was not to be fooled in this 
instance, and as soon as he learned of Howe's departure, 



214 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

he quickly assembled his army and started post-haste 
across New Jersey, although all the time he thought the 
British general was merely trying to deceive him ; and as 
soon as the Americans had been withdrawn a sufficient 
distance from the Hudson, he would turn back again and 
go to the aid of John Burgoyne. 

On the last day of July, 1777, Washington received 
word that Howe's fleet had arrived off the Delaware 
River, and the Americans moved up to Germantown ; but 
the very next day word came that the British fleet had set 
sail again. At first Washington believed that Howe had 
now gone back to New York, and he even prepared to send 
hastily back a part of his own army ; but after a few days had 
intervened, word came that the British fleet had sailed for 
the south. What could be the meaning of that ? At once 
it was concluded that Howe meant to attack Charleston ; 
and as it was impossible for the little American army to 
march several hundred miles to the southward in time to 
arrive at the threatened town before the redcoats could 
come, it was thought best to march as swiftly as possible 
back to New York, and make an attack upon that city, 
which Clinton was guarding with a force of seven thousand 
men. 

But on the 25th of August, after word had been re- 
ceived of the successful fight at Bennington (and word 
also was soon to come of Arnold's success against St. 
Leger), it was learned that Howe had landed his forces on 
the shore of Chesapeake Bay ! Swiftly Washington ad- 
vanced to Wilmington, but no battle occurred there except 
with words, for each side sent forth a " proclamation " to 
the people of the surrounding region. But for the most 
part Tories still remained Tories, and the Whigs did not 




o ■£ 




THE STORMING OF STONY POINT 
March on, carry me into the fort, and let me die at the head of the column."— WAYNE. 



BRANDY WINE AND GERMANTOWN 21 5 

give up their convictions. It was too late now for people 
to change their minds. 

Howe with his army then began the march to Philadel- 
phia ; and Washington, although he had only about half as 
many men as Howe had, decided to fight. Whether of his 
own accord he decided to do this, or whether he did so be- 
cause of the clamour of the people for him to do something, 
is not known. Perhaps he thought he could in this way 
cripple Howe's army, or hold it at Philadelphia and prevent 
it from going to the aid of Burgoyne, whom now he firmly 
believed to be destined to fail utterly in his great invasion. 

At all events, at Chadd's Ford in the Brandywine, he 
took his stand. The shores were rough and thickly wooded, 
the ground in the rear was high, and the waters of the 
stream below the ford were swift ; so that, as far as the posi- 
tion was concerned, it seemed strong enough to check even 
the brave and well-drilled redcoats and Hessians. But 
men are as necessary as cannon and rocky shores ; and the 
Americans were not yet sufficiently trained to be able to 
make a determined stand before the ranks of an army they 
had always from boyhood feared. 

So when, on the nth of September, 1777, Howe's army 
advanced, the same tactics were employed that had won 
the battle of Long Island; and although Sullivan's men, 
who extended two miles up the shore, fought desperately 
and heroically, the brave band was pushed back, the Brit- 
ish in overwhelming numbers advanced, and the battle of 
Brandywine was lost by the Americans ; and more than a 
thousand of the Continentals would never fight again. Yet 
so heroic had been the struggle that some claim that the 
victorious redcoats had lost even a greater number of men 
than had their foes. 



2l6 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

However, they had won the battle, and many of the 
frightened Whigs of the region fled to the mountains for 
safety, while fear and consternation prevailed on every 
hand in Philadelphia. The retreat of the Americans was 
in good order, in spite of their defeat; and on the following 
day, when they were at Chester, many were eager to renew 
the conflict. This Washington was too wise to permit, but 
for two weeks his troops so bothered the line of Howe's 
advance, that it was not until September 26th, 1777, that he 
entered the city. The great hope of the American leader 
had been that by harassing the redcoats, Howe might be 
kept where he was, and no aid be sent the sadly beset 
Burgoyne ; and though he had lost the battle in carrying 
out this purpose, Washington succeeded wonderfully in 
holding back the invading army as he did. 

One of these "skirmishes" particularly deserves notice. 
Mad Anthony Wayne had been placed in command of fif- 
teen hundred men by Washington, and ordered to annoy 
the redcoats, and to try to seize a part of their baggage- 
train. Near Paoli, Wayne found a quiet, and as he 
thought hidden, spot for his camp, and was reenforced by 
about eighteen hundred men, the most of them from 
Maryland. He thought he was safe from the enemy ; but 
some dastardly Tories went to the British camp and in- 
formed Howe of Wayne's hiding-place, and also told him 
just how many men Wayne had in his force. 

Howe quickly determined to surprise the patriots, and 
ordered General Gray (who was familiarly known as the 
"no-flint general," because he was accustomed to order his 
men to remove their flints, and so be compelled to use their 
bayonets), with a sufficient body, to break up this camp 
and seize the men. The night was dark and stormy, and 



BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN 217 

Gray advanced stealthily, like a thief in the night, having 
first told his men that they were to use their bayonets 
and were to give no quarter. The pickets of Wayne's 
camp were overcome and stabbed, and then the force 
rushed upon the unsuspecting men. 

In the light of the camp-fires the patriots could be 
plainly seen, while the storm and darkness concealed the 
attacking party, which seemed to be rushing upon them 
from every side. Though the brave men attempted to 
defend themselves, they were soon thrown into confusion, 
150 were butchered or wounded, half as many more taken 
prisoners, — some of whom were even stabbed after they 
had surrendered, — and had it not been for the skill and 
courage of Mad Anthony, the entire body would have been 
destroyed. As it was, he led a masterly retreat, and suc- 
ceeded, with those who escaped, in joining the army at 
Chester. 

General Howe was now in possession of Philadelphia ; 
but down on the river were two strong forts, Fort Mercer 
on the Jersey side, and Fort Mifflin on an island in the 
river or bay. These must be taken, Howe decided ; and 
when his brother, Admiral Howe, with his imposing fleet 
appeared early in October, the general sent a part of his 
army to assist in reducing these two places. This was 
Washington's opportunity, and he instantly resolved to 
make an attack upon the body left behind, just as he had 
done at Trenton almost a year before this time. The 
plan was excellent and the opportunity as good ; yet the 
battle of Germantown was lost by the Americans, though 
they had won at Trenton. 

The British were in camp in the lower part of the vil- 
lage (Germantown), and Washington's plan was to capture 



218 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

or destroy the entire body. On the 3d of October, 1777, 
soon after sunset, the march began, and soon after sunrise 
on the following morning (October 4th, 1777), the attack 
was made. Desperately and bravely the men fought. In 
front and rear and flank the firing was terrific, but still 
the men fought on. There was a very heavy fog at the 
time, and one of the advancing lines led by Stephen (who 
was declared to be drunk, and at all events, after his 
trial by court-martial, he was dismissed from the service) 
mistook Mad Anthony Wayne's men for the enemy, 
and fired upon them. The confusion that followed was 
so great that soon the American army was retreating, 
having lost the battle, and left 673 of their comrades 
dead or wounded upon the field, while the loss of the 
British was 535. 

It is said that the genius of Washington and the daring 
of his men in the battle of Germantown did as much to 
bring France to the aid of the struggling colonies as did 
the surrender of the boastful John Burgoyne. At all 
events, the American soldiers were learning very rapidly 
how to fight ; and although the redcoats held Philadelphia, 
the ragged and despised army of Continentals seemed as 
far from giving up as ever. *, / 

Of course the Howes now took the two forts with com- 
parative ease, though in the first attack on Fort Mercer 
the Hessians suffered a very severe loss, — that of Count 
Dunop and four hundred men ; but after a few weeks had 
passed, and some six thousand soldiers from New York had 
come to their aid, the British succeeded ; both forts fell, 
and not only Philadelphia, but the Delaware River was in 
their possession. 

The winter was now at hand, and active fighting must 



BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN 219 

cease. In Philadelphia, with every comfort, with the 
friendship of the Tories (and almost everybody in the 
town seemed to be on the Tory side then), with gay fes- 
tivities, the British soldiers passed the winter days. On 
the other hand, out at Valley Forge, a little place on the 
Schuylkill River, near the present city of Norristown, the 
patriots were to endure a terrible winter. Many were 
without shoes for their feet, the snow and ice causing 
intense suffering. Half starved, poorly clothed, the little 
patriot army waited, ready at any moment to attack their 
enemies if they should move out from the city. But the 
redcoats were too comfortable to move, and so the long 
days passed in pleasure for one army, and in indescribable 
suffering for the other. 

Congress, too, had fled from Philadelphia at the coming 
of Howe, and now were at Lancaster. They had voted 
additional powers to Washington, but in his camp they 
seemed almost like a farce. The only bright spots in the 
year were the surrender of Burgoyne, and the good work 
which the rough but kind-hearted Baron Steuben was 
doing, in drilling and aiding the frost-bitten, hungry, but 
still determined soldiers in the camp with Washington at 
Valley Forge. 

In Philadelphia the British had a large prison into which 
the unfortunate stragglers from the American camp were 
cast, and in the intense and bitter feelings of the times it 
was hardly to be expected that very much of gentleness or 
tenderness should be displayed. Certain it is that the feel- 
ings of both Whig and Tory became greatly intensified 
during the experiences of that terrible winter. The char- 
acter of the struggle perhaps can best be shown by a few 
authentic incidents selected from the records of the times. 



220 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

In a house on Second Street, Philadelphia, directly oppo- 
site that occupied by General Howe, dwelt William and 
Lydia Darrah, members of the Society of Friends, and, 
like many of the Quakers, opposed on principle to the war. 
This opposition, however, did not prevent them from hav- 
ing sympathy, and though many quietly took sides with 
the redcoats, others had no less a feeling of interest in the 
struggling patriots. Among the latter were William Dar- 
rah and his wife Lydia ; but their quiet manners led the 
British to look upon them as they did upon others of that 
peace-loving body, and so no one suspected them of any 
love for the colonies. 

One day, early in December, 1777, a British officer 
entered their house, and his familiar manner at once dis- 
closed his acquaintance with the household. To Lydia 
Darrah he explained that he desired to use one of her 
spare rooms that very evening as a meeting-place for some 
of his friends who would remain with him until a late hour 
in the night. 

"Be sure, Lydia," he said, "that your family are all in 
bed at an early hour. When our guests are ready to leave 
the house I will myself give you notice, that you may let 
us out and extinguish the fire and candles." 

The company met in the room, as the British adjutant- 
general had desired ; and by eight o'clock the Darrahs 
were in bed. But Lydia could not sleep, for her thoughts 
were of the poor Continentals, and of this group of men in 
her own house, whom she suspected to be plotting against 
the patriots. So strong became this feeling that at last 
she crept out of bed and along the hallway, until she stood 
outside the door of the room in which the officers were 
assembled, and listened. The desperate plight of Wash- 



BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN 221 

ington and his men quieted any compunctions she had 
as to what she was doing, and soon she heard discussed 
the outlines of a plan for an attack on the Continentals, 
which by its suddenness would find Washington's men 
unprepared ; and so great results were expected to be 
accomplished. 

Having learned of the project, Lydia made her way back 
to bed, but not to sleep. She was thinking of the words 
she had just heard, and how her countrymen might be 
warned of their peril. At last there came a knock on her 
door, to which she did not respond until for the third time 
it had been repeated ; then she arose, dressed herself, and 
saw her "guests" depart. 

Again she returned to her bed, though sleep was not to 
be had ; but with the coming of the morning she had 
formed her plan. Flour was to be had at Frankford mills, 
and with a bag in her hands, after having obtained a pass 
from General Howe himself, she started on her long walk, 
for the mills were five miles away. At last she arrived 
there, left her bag to be filled with meal, and started 
swiftly toward the outposts of the Americans not far 
away. Before she arrived she met an American officer, 
Colonel Craig, to whom she revealed what the British 
were plotting for the following day, and begged of him 
to see that they were thwarted in their plans, and her own 
name kept secret. Then she walked back home over the 
five miles of rough road, carrying with her the bag of 
meal. 

How well her warning words were heeded the British 
learned on the following day, when, after their march to 
the American camp, they found the patriots so prepared 
that the only thing to be done by the redcoats was to 






222 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

march back to Philadelphia again. Lydia herself from her 
windows watched the march of the returning redcoats ; and 
when the adjutant-general stopped at her house, naturally 
her fears were not quieted. 

" Were any of your family up, Lydia, on the night when 
I received company in this house ? " he inquired. 

"They all retired at eight o'clock." 

" It is very strange," said the general. " You, I know, 
Lydia, were asleep, for I knocked three times at your door 
before you heard me ; yet it is certain we were betrayed. 
I am altogether at a loss to conceive who could have given 
the information of our intended attack to Washington. 
On arriving at his encampment we found his cannon 
mounted, his troops under arms and so prepared at every 
point to receive us that we have been compelled to march 
back without injuring our enemy, like a parcel of fools." 

But Lydia Darrah did not feel called upon to tell him 
all she knew. 

One of the most famous of the daring men in the 
American camp was Colonel Allen McLane. His exploits 
in securing forage and cutting off the fpraging parties of 
the British read more like a romance than reality. Just 
before Howe departed from Philadelphia to sail for Eng- 
land, leaving Sir Henry Clinton in command of the troops, 
the British and their sympathizers in the city had a very 
elaborate tournament and ball which was known as the 
Mischianza. There was a parade of gayly decked vessels 
on the river, a march of the troops, a tournament, and then 
a very elaborate dinner and dance. 

Learning of the plan, this bold colonel, with 150 of his 
followers as bold as he, resolved to break up the festivities 
if nothing more, and succeeded in reaching the abatis in 



BRANDYWINE AND GERMANTOWN 223 

front of the British works, the men all carrying camp- 
kettles filled with material which would burst into a blaze 
the moment it was fired. After the men had gained the 
place in the darkness, the signal was given, and in an 
instant the entire line of the abatis burst into flames. 

The long alarm-roll of the British drums informed the 
soldiers engaged in the festivities of their danger, and they 
speedily rushed forth to drive back the "army" which 
they thought was attacking the city. The little force of 
McLane was quickly scattered, but all succeeded in mak- 
ing their way back to camp. 

Major Tallmadge was one of the most trusty of Wash- 
ington's men. He it was who afterward had charge of 
the execution of Major Andr6, the young officer who was 
so very popular with all that winter in Philadelphia, and 
one of the leaders in the Mischianza. Major Tallmadge 
with his division of cavalry was stationed at the time be- 
tween Valley Forge and Philadelphia, in order that he 
might keep the Americans informed of the doings of the 
British, and at the same time cut off stragglers from the 
camp of the enemy. 

One day, hearing that a young girl had gone into town 
to sell eggs and quietly to receive a message for the Ameri- 
cans, the major resolved to meet her and learn what she 
had found out. So, leaving his detachment at German- 
town, he set forth alone in the direction of the British 
lines. Dismounting at a tavern from which he could see 
far down the road toward the city, he waited for the messen- 
ger to come. As soon as he saw her he told her who he 
was, and was soon listening to her tale, when he was sud- 
denly told the British light-horse were coming. From the 
doorway he could plainly see the redcoats in pursuit of his 



224 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

patrols, and instantly was aware that he himself had not 
a moment to waste. 

While he swiftly prepared to mount his own horse, the 
young girl interrupted him and begged of him to save her 
from the British. Instantly ordering and helping her to 
mount behind him and to keep fast hold upon himself, the 
major and his companion rode swiftly away for Germantown, 
followed by the cries and shouts and shots of the pursuing 
enemy. For three miles the pursuit was kept up, and 
then the major and the messenger gained the protection of 
his force and were safe. 

Mary Knight was another brave woman who through 
the deep snows often made her way to the American 
camp, bringing food to the men and medicine for the sick. 
She frequently disguised herself as a market woman, and 
so passed the outposts of the British successfully. At one 
time she concealed her own brother, General Warrell (on 
whose head the British had set a price), in a cider hogshead 
in her cellar. There she kept him safely hidden for three 
days, feeding him through the bung of the hogshead ; and 
though parties of the redcoats searched the house four 
different times, they never once discovered the hiding- 
place of the hated rebel. 

Young Lafayette, whose heart had been stirred by the 
story of America's wrongs, had come from France to the 
aid of the struggling people, and was in charge of a division, 
and had his own quarters at the home of a Tory Quaker. This 
Quaker (it would hardly be just to call him a " Friend ") in- 
formed General Clinton of the marquis's whereabouts and 
habits, and the British commander at once formed a plan by 
which he hoped to capture the young Frenchman and his 
followers, and he very nearly succeeded in his project. So 



BRANDY WINE AND GERMANTOWN 225 

silently and stealthily did his men advance that the first 
intimation Lafayette had of their presence was the sight 
of their scarlet coats among the trees near the house. 
Soon it was learned that the British had almost sur- 
rounded the place, and but one way of retreat lay open. 
Instantly Lafayette arranged to escape by that. He 
ordered some of his men to act as if they were about to 
attack the British, and if they should succeed in holding 
the enemy back for a few minutes, then the others were to 
make good their retreat. 

This movement was carried out, and while the British 
halted and prepared to defend themselves against what in 
their surprise they thought to be an attack upon themselves, 
the desperate body of Americans succeeded in escaping, 
even the men who had pretended to be ready to attack the 
redcoats also succeeding at last in joining their comrades. 

Before this chapter is brought to a close, it is fitting that 
a word should be spoken concerning the flag of the new 
nation. On June 14th, 1777, Congress had " resolved that 
the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, 
alternate red and white ; that the Union be thirteen stars, 
white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." 

Up to this time flags of various colours and designs had 
been carried, though it is claimed that a flag of thirteen 
'stripes was unfurled when the Continental army was 
organized January 1st, 1776, and that the crosses of St. 
George and St. Andrew were emblazoned on a blue can- 
ton, instead of the stars that came later. Different parts 
of the colonies had carried different flags, and there was 
the "Pine Tree Flag," "The Rattlesnake Flag," and 
various others of strange device. 

The flag which Congress adopted in 1777 was said by 



226 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

some to have been that proposed by John Adams, while 
others claim that the entire flag was borrowed from the 
coat of arms of the Washington family. Betsey Ross, 
now famous, probably made the first official flag, though 
that raised by young Colonel Gansevoort and his men 
at Fort Schuyler, in August, 1777, was the first to appear 
before an enemy and flaunt its defiance. John Paul Jones, 
on The Ranger, was the first to carry it on the sea, and the 
first battle on land in which it appeared was that of 
Brandywine, September nth, 1777. 

At first a new stripe and a new star were added to the flag 
with the reception of each new state, and in 1795, after 
Vermont and Kentucky were received into the Union, the 
flag consisted of fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. This was 
the flag which was carried during the War of 1812; but 
in 18 18, Congress adopted the plan of having thirteen 
stripes, with a star for every state. A new star was to be 
added with the reception of each new state. This is said 
to have been the suggestion of Captain Reid, the naval 
hero, and to his good taste the modern flag is due. There 
were Congressmen who desired to have a goddess of lib- 
erty or an eagle above the stripes, but what a bungling 
piece of work that would have made ! The flag itself has 
had a good history, and if its power continues to be as 
marked as its beauty, none of us will ever have cause to be 
ashamed of it. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 

As we already have learned, France was the country 
from which America was expecting the most aid, and with 
which the greatest efforts to establish friendly relations 
had been made. At the very outbreak of the war, France, 
because of her hatred of England, and angry over the loss 
of her own colonies in North America, had been secretly 
aiding the leaders of the Revolution by giving them 
money and by permitting privateers to be fitted out in 
her ports, which were also used as the places of retreat in 
times of peril. Of course openly France still pretended to 
be England's friend, and indeed her king was said to be 
strongly on the side of Great Britain, but others besides 
young Lafayette had sailed across the ocean to aid the 
struggling Americans, and the sentiment of the people had 
been very strongly aroused in favour of the nation beyond 
the sea by the presence among them of shrewd, wise old 
Doctor Franklin, who had been made sole minister to 
France by the United States. His quaint style of dress 
and simple manner of living, his ready wit and unpretentious 
manners, had so endeared him to the French people that 
for the time even " Franklin hats" and "Franklin coats" 
became the rage. 

But all the time, Benjamin Franklin, honoured at home 
for his homely wisdom and abroad chiefly for the discovery 

227 



228 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

he had made of the power of electricity, was working 
steadily to accomplish one purpose, and that was to have 
France openly declare herself in favour of the new nation, 
and give her aid in the struggle. Though most of the 
Frenchmen hated England and were ready enough to fight, 
it was their fear that the bulk of the contest would fall upon 
them if they joined hands with America, and that they would 
not receive very much of the reward if success should 
finally crown the efforts, which caused them to hesitate. 

The surrender of John Burgoyne and the attack which 
Washington made upon the British at Germantown (though 
his attack had failed, as we know) led France at last to 
decide to enter openly into the struggle ; and early in 1778, 
a treaty of alliance was made with the United States, and 
the promise was given that a fleet of sixteen war vessels 
under d'Estaing, and an army of four thousand men, would 
be sent across the ocean to the help of the Americans. 

Naturally England at once declared war upon France, 
and after offering to grant to her "colonies " all that they 
had demanded at the breaking out of the war, coolly 
invited them to join her in fighting the Frenchmen. If 
England three years before this time had made the same 
offer, doubtless the colonies would have listened gladly ; 
but now it was too late. They had declared themselves to 
be a free and independent nation, and free and independent 
they would be; and though Lord North himself, the 
strongest foe of the colonies, made the motion in Parlia- 
ment, and was willing to declare that Great Britain would 
give up all claim to a right to tax the colonies, the leaders 
of the new nation would not listen. The war must go on. 

George Washington, in the spring of 1778, was stronger 
with the people than he had been in the preceding year. 



MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 229 

The thoughtless crowd had blamed him for the defeats 
and losses near Philadelphia, and contrasted his failures 
with the brilliant success of Gates at Saratoga, although 
we know that Gates really had had very little to do with the 
defeat of Burgoyne, and that it was as much in spite of him 
as because of him that the British general and his army at 
last surrendered. But at the time the people for the most 
part did not understand this, and, taking advantage of the 
popular sentiment, there was a movement to place Gates 
in command of the American army in place of Washington. 
However, this movement was defeated by the dignity and 
wisdom of Washington, and when the reaction came in the 
feelings of the people, as it almost always does come, he 
was really stronger than ever he had been. 

The British army in America naturally was alarmed 
when the action of France was learned, for it meant not 
only a war on one side of the ocean, but on the other 
also. And so it proved, for the ruling families of France 
and Spain were related, and as we are told that blood is 
thicker than water, we are not surprised that soon both 
Spain and France were fighting England ; and for com- 
mercial reasons, not long afterward, brave little Holland 
joined the two nations that were contending with Great 
Britain. So by dividing England's forces, and giving her 
a very serious war at home, France did aid the United 
States very materially, though it was in this way that she 
helped her far more than by fighting battles in 
America. 

As soon as Sir Henry Clinton, who had succeeded Howe 
in command, heard of the action that France had taken, 
he at once decided to abandon Philadelphia and hasten to 
New York, which he supposed would be the first place to 



230 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

be attacked. He was in something of a quandary, however, 
for there was a multitude of Tories in Philadelphia now, 
and many more who had become Tories, since they had 
accepted Howe's offer of pardon, and believing that his 
side was to be the winning side, had cast in their lot with 
him. All of these people were terribly frightened at the 
thought of Clinton and the redcoats leaving them to the 
just anger of Washington's army, which was still at 
Valley Forge, and not only better drilled and prepared 
to fight than it had previously been, but also increased 
by the arrival of many of the men who had been fighting 
John Burgoyne the preceding summer. What Washing- 
ton would do with them they did not know, but they 
thought they could conjecture, and so these unhappy 
people begged Sir Henry to take them with him to New 
York. 

Clinton listened to their piteous appeal, and finally 
used the fleet by which it had been planned to send the 
soldiers to New York to carry these Tories to the city ; 
while he with the army would march across New Jersey 
to [New] Brunswick, where Howe's fleet, having taken its 
cargo of timid folk to New York, and returning to the 
Raritan, could meet the army, and from that place convey 
it to the desired haven. 

Before we follow the movements of the two armies, one 
fact must be mentioned. In the preceding summer a band 
of bold patriots had made their way into Newport, and had 
succeeded in capturing the British general Prescott, who 
was bitterly hated by the Americans. When Ethan Allen 
and his few brave followers had surrendered, after contend- 
ing for almost two hours against a force that had out- 
numbered them almost three to one in his Canadian 



MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 231 

expedition in 1775, and had been sent to Montreal with 
the understanding that they would all receive honourable 
treatment, Prescott, who was in command at Montreal at the 
time, had become so enraged when he learned that Ethan 
Allen was the man who had taken Ticonderoga, that he 
threatened to hang him, but after binding him hand and 
foot he had placed him on board the Gaspee, a schooner of 
war, where a heavy bar of iron eight feet long was attached 
to his shackles ; and after handcuffing the other Americans 
he thrust them in the lowest part of the vessel. For 
five weeks the daring Allen was kept in this condition 
before he was sent down to Quebec. There he was treated 
better, but was nevertheless sent to England to be tried for 
treason. He was at last sent back to Halifax, and from 
there was sent to New York, where, after a long time had 
elapsed, he was finally exchanged and permitted to go back 
to his Vermont home ; but his fighting days were ended. 

Many other similar tales of Prescott's cruelty might be 
related, but it is sufficient to say that the Americans hated 
him with a perfect hatred that was certainly just and 
deserved. He himself had previously been taken prisoner 
by the Americans and exchanged for General Sullivan. 

In the summer of 1777, Prescott was in command at 
Newport. Colonel William Barton, with a party of picked 
men, in four whaleboats made their way one night to the 
place, and, succeeding in passing the guards, at last ap- 
proached the house in which Prescott had his quarters. 
There the sentry halted them with the demand for the 
countersign. 

" We have no countersign to give," replied Colonel Bar- 
ton. " Have you seen any deserters ? " 

Misled by the question, the sentinel lowered his gun, 



?32 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

when he was instantly seized and bound. Barton entered 
the front door of the house and inquired of the owner (a 
Mr. Overton) where General Prescott was. A motion of 
the hand informed him that the hated officer was in the 
room above ; so the colonel with five men (one of whom 
was a powerful negro) went up the stairs and tried the 
door, but could not open it. At the colonel's word, Sisson, 
the negro, drew back a few paces, and then drove his head 
against the panels, which instantly were splintered into a 
thousand pieces. General Prescott was in the room, and, 
supposing the intruders to be robbers, tried to secure 
his valuables ; but he was instantly seized by the men, a 
cloak was wrapped around him (for there was not even 
time for him to dress), and he was bidden to follow his 
captors, and informed that any noise or outcry on his part 
would mean his instant death. 

The British general silently followed the daring men, 
until at last their escape had been accomplished, when, as 
they landed at Warwick Point, he said to Barton, " Sir, you 
have made a bold push to-night." 

"We have been fortunate," replied the colonel, quietly. 

Prescott was soon afterward sent to Washington, and in 
the spring of 1778 was exchanged for General Lee, who 
now was with the Americans at Valley Forge, still a 
traitor at heart. Lee began by opposing everything that 
Washington suggested. He did not think the Americans 
should follow the retiring redcoats ; he did not believe the 
rude Continentals could stand before the well-trained Brit- 
ish soldiers. As he had a very persuasive tongue, it is 
easy to understand what a menace he was to Washington 
and the American army, none of whom understood at the 
time what traitorous work Lee had been doing, or trying 



MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 233 

to do, while he had been a prisoner in New York. It 
would have been far better if he had been left there and 
the cruel Prescott held. 

In spite of all this, however, Washington, with his army 
of fifteen thousand men, decided to follow the retiring red- 
coats; and when, on the morning of June 18th, 1778, Clinton 
marched out from Philadelphia, by the night of the very 
same day the American army entered the city ; and so 
quiet were their movements that some of the belated 
stragglers of the British were cut off and made prisoners. 

Perhaps it would have been only what might have been 
expected of human nature if the incoming Americans had 
stopped to visit a just punishment upon such of the Tories 
as had decided to take their chances and remain in town 
after the departure of their friends and Sir Henry Clinton. 
But the army was in too great haste to stop for such meas- 
ures ; and Benedict Arnold, whose wounded leg was not 
yet healed, was placed in command of the little force left 
behind. The members of Congress soon came in from 
York, and though indictments were made out against some 
of the traitorous Tories, only two of them were hanged. 
These two were Friends who had in person been the guides 
of some of the redcoats in a night attack upon a force of 
the Americans, and if any men ever deserved hanging, it is 
very certain that these two villains did. Afterward all the 
other Tories were pardoned. 

Washington, who, of course, had been informed what 
Clinton's plan was to be, had decided to march rapidly 
across New Jersey in a line to the north of that followed by 
his enemy, and when he had gained a position in advance 
of the British, then he planned to turn back, and in some 
favourable place of his own selection give battle to the 



234 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

British. Clinton, although his army was a little larger 
and much better equipped than Washington's, did not 
wish to fight now, but only to bring his forces safely into 
New York, and join with others in protecting that city 
from the expected attack of the French. 

Washington was doing all in his power to hamper and 
delay Clinton, while he himself was making all haste to get 
ahead of him. Bands of militia and of patriots from New 
Jersey were cutting down the bridges before the advanc- 
ing British. One poor fellow, as true a patriot as ever 
breathed, with a few companions, was cutting the stringers 
of a bridge as the advancing redcoats appeared. His com- 
rades fled, but he remained, swiftly swinging his axe, until 
the British were close upon him. That bridge must come 
down, and as the last stroke of his axe fell, the bridge col- 
lapsed just as a dozen rifles rang out together, and the 
body of the patriot fell, pierced by every ball. 

The Hessians in Clinton's army formed the baggage- 
train, and stretched out in a long line of twelve miles be- 
hind the British regulars. The intense heat, the heavy 
garb of the "Dutch butchers," and the constant harassing 
by the Americans made the march of these men a terrible 
one ; and at last, believing that Washington was planning 
to secure these supplies, Clinton placed the Hessians in 
front, and as a rear-guard had his own chosen troops of 
the regulars. 

When the Americans arrived at Hopewell, the soldiers 
were so nearly worn out by the heat and the haste of the 
march that Washington decided to halt and give them a 
rest. At the same time he called a council of his officers, 
and presented to them his plan of sending a detachment 
of his men to fall on the British, when he himself would 



MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 235 

follow with the rest of the army. There was a spirited 
discussion, and again Charles Lee opposed the plan. So 
eloquent and persuasive was he that a majority voted 
against the project ; but Greene, Mad Anthony Wayne, 
and others urged Washington to go on, and this he de- 
cided to do. 

Clinton had now learned that the American army was 
in advance of him ; so, abandoning his plan of marching to 
the Raritan, he changed his course and moved toward the 
Navesink Highlands, where Howe was to meet him with 
his fleet and convey the army to the city. 

On June 28th, 1778, the American army overtook the 
British at Monmouth Courthouse (Freehold), and there 
the famous battle of Monmouth took place on that Sun- 
day, one of the hottest days ever known in the history of 
New Jersey. Of the battle itself no better account can be 
given than that in the letter descriptive of it, which Gen- 
eral Washington himself sent to the president of Congress 
soon after the fight. 

GENERAL WASHINGTON'S DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE OF 

MONMOUTH 

Englishtown, July 1, 1778. 

Sir : — I embrace this first moment of leisure to give Congress 
a more full and particular account of the movements of the army 
under my command, since its passing the Delaware, than the 
situation of our affairs would heretofore permit. 

I have the honour to advise them, that on the appearance of the 
enemy's intentions to march through Jersey becoming serious, I 
had detached General Maxwell's brigade, in conjunction with the 
militia of that state [New Jersey] to interrupt and impede their 
progress by every obstruction in their power, so as to give time to 
the army under my command to come up with them, and take 



236 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

advantage of any favourable circumstances that might present 
themselves. The army having proceeded to Coryell's Ferry, and 
crossed the Delaware at that place, I immediately detached 
Colonel Morgan with a select corps of six hundred men, to 
reinforce General Maxwell, and marched with the main body 
toward Princeton. 

The slow advances of the enemy had greatly the air of design, 
and led me with many others to suspect that General Clinton, 
desirous of a general action, was endeavouring to draw us down 
into the lower country, in order by a rapid movement to gain our 
right, and take possession of the strong ground above us. This 
consideration, and to give the troops time to repose and refresh 
themselves from the fatigues they had experienced from rainy and 
excessive hot weather, determined me to halt at Hopewell town- 
ship, about five miles from Princeton, where we remained until 
the morning of the 25th. On the preceding day I made a second 
detachment of fifteen hundred chosen troops, under Brigadier- 
general Scott, to reinforce those already in the vicinity of the 
enemy, the more effectually to annoy and delay their march. 

The next day the army moved to Kingston, and having re- 
ceived intelligence that the enemy were prosecuting their route 
toward Monmouth Courthouse, I dispatched ten hundred select 
men under Brigadier-general Wayne, and sent the Marquis de 
Lafayette to take the command of the whole advanced corps, in- 
cluding Maxwell's brigade and Morgan's light infantry, with orders 
to take the first fair opportunity of attacking the enemy's rear. In 
the evening of the same day the whole army advanced from Kings- 
ton, where our baggage was left, with intention to preserve a 
proper distance for supporting the advanced corps, and arrived 
at Cranberry early the next morning. The intense heat of the 
weather and a heavy storm unluckily coming on, made it impos- 
sible for us to resume our march that day without great incon- 
venience and injury to the troops. Our advanced corps being 
differently circumstanced moved from the position it had held the 
night before, and took post in the evening on the Monmouth 
road, about five miles from the enemy's rear, in the expectation 
of attacking them the next morning on their march. The main 



MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 237 

body having remained at Cranberry, the advanced corps was 
found to be too remote and too far upon the right to be sup- 
ported either in case of an attack upon, or from the enemy, which 
induced me to send orders to the marquis to file off by his left 
toward Englishtown, which he accordingly executed early in the 
morning of the 27th. 

The enemy, in marching from Allentown, had changed their 
disposition, and placed their best troops in the rear ; consisting of 
all the grenadiers, light infantry, and chasseurs of the line. This 
alteration made it necessary to increase the number of our 
advanced corps, and in consequence of which I detached Major- 
general Lee with two brigades to join the marquis at English- 
town, on whom of course the command of the whole devolved, 
amounting to about five thousand men. The main army marched 
the same day, and encamped within three miles of that place. 
Morgan's corps was left hovering on the enemy's right flank, and 
the Jersey militia amounting at this time to about seven or eight 
hundred men, under General Dickinson, on their left. 

The enemy were now encamped in a strong position, with their 
right extending about a mile and a half beyond the courthouse, 
in the parting of the road leading to Shrewsbury and Middletown, 
and their left along the road from Allentown to Monmouth, about 
three miles this side of the courthouse. Their right flank lay on 
the skirt of a small wood, while their left was secured by a very 
thick one ; a morass running toward their rear, and their whole 
front covered by a wood, and to a considerable extent toward 
the left with a morass. In this situation they halted, until the 
morning of the 28th. 

Matters being thus situated, and having had the best informa- 
tion that if the enemy were once arrived at the heights of Middle- 
town, ten or twelve miles from where they were, it would be 
impossible to attempt anything against them with a prospect of 
success, I determined to attack their rear the moment they 
should get in motion from their present ground. I communicated 
my intention to General Lee, and ordered him to make his dis- 
position for the attack, and to keep his troops constantly lying 
upon their arms, to be in readiness at the shortest notice. This 



238 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

was done with respect to the troops under my immediate 
command. 

About five in the morning, General Dickinson sent an express 
informing that the front of the enemy had begun their march. 
I instantly put the army in motion, and sent orders by one of my 
aids to General Lee, to move on and attack them, unless there 
should be any powerful reasons to the contrary ; acquainting him 
at the same time that I was marching to support him, and for 
doing it with the greatest expedition and convenience, should 
make the men disencumber themselves of their packs and 
blankets. 

After marching five miles, to my great surprise and mortifica- 
tion I met the whole advanced corps retreating, and, as I was 
told, by General Lee's orders, without having made any opposi- 
tion, except one fire given by the party under the command of 
Colonel Butler, on their being charged by the enemy's cavalry, 
who were repulsed. I proceeded immediately to the rear of the 
corps, which I found closely pressed by the enemy, and gave 
directions for forming part of the retreating troops, who, by the 
brave and spirited conduct of the officers, aided by some pieces 
of well-served artillery, checked the enemy's advances, and gave 
time to make a disposition of the left and second lines of the 
army upon an eminence and in a wood a little in the rear, covered 
by a morass in front. On this were placed some batteries of 
cannon by Lord Stirling, who commanded the left wing, which 
played upon the enemy with great effect ; and, seconded by parties 
of infantry detached to oppose them, effectually put a stop to their 
advance. 

General Lee being detached with the advanced corps, the com- 
mand of the right wing was given, for the occasion, to General 
Greene. For the expedition of the march, and to counteract any 
attempt to turn our right, I had ordered him to file off by the new 
church two miles from Englishtown, and fall into the Monmouth 
road, a small distance in the rear of the courthouse, while the rest 
of the column moved on directly toward the courthouse. On 
intelligence of the retreat he marched up and took up a very ad- 
vantageous position on the right. 



MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 239 

The enemy, by this time finding themselves warmly opposed in 
front, made an attempt to turn our left flank; but they were 
bravely repulsed and driven back by detached parties of infantry. 
They also made a movement toward our right with as little suc- 
cess ; General Greene having advanced a body of troops with 
artillery, to a commanding piece of ground, — which not only dis- 
appointed their design of turning our right, but severely infiladed 
those in front of the left wing. In addition to this, General 
Wayne advanced with a body of troops and kept up so severe and 
well directed a fire, that the enemy were soon compelled to retire 
behind the defile where the first stand in the beginning of the 
action had been made. 

In this situation, the enemy had both their flanks secured by 
thick woods and morasses, while their front could only be ap- 
proached through a narrow pass. I resolved, nevertheless, to 
attack them, — and for that purpose ordered General Poor, with 
his own and the Carolina brigade, to move round upon their right, 
and General Woodford upon their left, and the artillery to gall 
them in front ; but the impediments in the way prevented their 
getting within reach before it was dark. They remained upon the 
ground they had been directed to occupy during the night, with 
the intention to begin the attack early the next morning ; and the 
army continued lying upon their arms in the field of action, to be 
ready to support them ; in the meantime, the enemy were em- 
ployed in removing their wounded, and, about twelve o'clock at 
night, marched away in such silence, that, although General Poor 
lay extremely near them, they effected their retreat without his 
knowledge. They carried off all their wounded except four 
officers and about forty privates, whose wounds were too danger- 
ous to permit their removal. The extreme heat of the weather, 
the fatigue of the men from their march through a deep, sandy 
country, almost entirely destitute of water, and the distance the 
enemy had gained by marching in the night made a pursuit im- 
practicable and fruitless. It would have answered no valuable 
purpose, and proved fatal to numbers of our men, — several of 
whom died the preceding day with heat. 

Were I to conclude my account of this day's transactions with- 



240 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

out expressing my obligations to the officers of the army in gen- 
eral, I should do injustice to their merit, and violence to my own 
feelings. They seemed to vie with each other in manifesting 
their zeal and bravery. The catalogue of those who distinguished 
themselves is too long to admit of particularizing individuals. I 
cannot, however, forbear mentioning Brigadier- General Wayne, 
whose conduct and bravery during the whole action deserve par- 
ticular commendation. The behaviour of the troops in general, 
after they recovered from the first surprise occasioned by the 
retreat of the advanced corps, was such as could not be sur- 
passed. 

All the artillery, both officers and men, that were engaged, dis- 
tinguished themselves in a remarkable manner. 

Enclosed, Congress will be pleased to receive a return of our 
killed and wounded. Among the first were Lieutenant-colonel 
Bunner of Pennsylvania, and Major Dickinson of Virginia, — both 
distinguished officers, and much to be regretted. The enemy's 
slain on the field and buried by us — according to the return of 
the persons assigned to that duty — were four officers and 245 
privates. In the former was the Honourable Colonel Monckton. 
Exclusive of these they buried some themselves, — as there were 
several new graves near the field of battle. How many men they 
have wounded cannot be determined ; but, from the usual pro- 
portion, the number must have been considerable. There were 
a few prisoners taken. 

The peculiar situation of General Lee at this time requires 
that I should say nothing of his conduct. He is now in arrest. 
The charges against him, with such sentence as the court-martial 
may decree in his case, shall be transmitted, for the approbation 
or disapprobation of Congress, as soon as it shall have passed. 

Being fully convinced by the gentlemen of this country that the 
enemy cannot be hurt or injured in their embarkation at Sandy 
Hook (the place to which they are now moving), and unwilling 
to get too far removed from the North River, I put the troops in 
motion early this morning, and shall proceed that way, — leaving 
the Jersey Brigade, Morgan's corps, and other light parties (the 
militia being all dismissed) to hover about them, countenance 



MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 24 1 

desertion, and prevent depredations as far as possible. After they 
embark, the former will take post in the neighbourhood of Eliza- 
bethtown, the latter rejoin the corps from which they were de- 
tached. I have the honour, etc. 

G. Washington. 

When Lee had ordered the retreat from the field, Wash- 
ington, as we know, was at some distance in the rear, coming 
up with the main body. The retreating men themselves 
did not understand what they were doing, for apparently all 
things had been in their favour during the brief engagement, 
and Mad Anthony was almost beside himself with rage and 
grief. 

As Washington rode forward he met a fifer, who in re- 
sponse to his question replied that the Americans were 
retreating. Threatening to have the man whipped in the 
presence of the army if he dared repeat such words, the 
general again rode forward, and soon the straggling soldiers 
convinced him that the division was indeed leaving the 
field. Instantly every power of the great leader seemed to 
be roused. He sent forward his aides, he gave his com- 
mands, and soon was himself face to face with Charles Lee, 
the cause of all the trouble. 

"What is the meaning of this, sir?" thundered Wash- 
ington, in his wrath. 

"Sir, — Sir — " stammered Lee. 

Again Washington demanded the explanation, and the 
miserable Lee tried to explain that his order had been mis- 
understood, but the commander was too angry to pause 
and listen. It seemed as if all his plans and hopes, his 
patient labours, and even the hopes of the new nation 
were to be blasted by the treachery of one man. In a 
towering rage he left the stammering Lee, and though 



242 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

afterward he gave him a command in the battle, he no 
doubt now understood his man. 

After the battle Lee wrote Washington an insulting 
letter, in which he tried to bolster up his own vanity and 
poke fun at the pretensions and "tinsel dignity," as he 
termed it, of the commander. Washington instantly ar- 
rested Lee, and ordered a court-martial, from which, through 
the large-mindedness of Washington, he came forth with 
only a sentence of dismissal for one year. Surely he 
deserved a more severe punishment than that, but Washing- 
ton never appeared to better advantage than in his mag- 
nanimous conduct toward the treacherous Lee at this time. 
He preferred to suffer wrong rather than take any chances 
of doing it. 

Charles Lee wrote so many scurrilous letters to papers 
and people, in which he abused Washington, that soon 
after he was expelled from the army, and so relief at last 
was had. 

" Molly Pitcher " is one of the famous characters of the 
battle of Monmouth. Her husband, a gunner, had fallen, 
when she sprang to his place and fired the cannon. She 
was cheered by the men, and afterward honoured, by the 
recommendation of General Greene, with the commission 
of a sergeant, and was familiarly known as " Captain 
Molly." The story is true, but is not true as it is fre- 
quently told. " Molly Pitcher " was a name applied by 
the Continental soldiers, in their hot and weary march 
through Jersey, to any woman who brought them water to 
drink. Perhaps this woman had the nickname also, but her 
true name was Molly Macaulay, and though her early home 
had been in Monmouth County, New Jersey, she after- 
ward lived and died and was buried in Carlisle, Pennsyl- 



MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 243 

vania. She is said to have been a large, red-haired, 
powerful Irish woman. 

The day of the battle was extremely hot, the thermom- 
eter before sunrise having registered 96 in the shade ! 
Both sides suffered intensely from the heat, but the 
British suffered more than their foes, as they were clad in 
a heavy uniform ; and the poor Hessians suffered most of 
all, as they obstinately refused to discard any part of the 
heavy garb they wore. 

For the Americans, Mad Anthony's men set an example 
by throwing aside their coats and going into the fight in 
their shirt sleeves, and not satisfied with this, afterward 
rolled up their sleeves and fought with bare arms. An 
old record informs us that " the tongues of great numbers 
were so swollen as to render them incapable of speaking. 
Many of both armies perished solely from heat, and after 
the battle were seen dead upon the field without mark or 
wound, under the trees and beside the rivulet where they 
had crawled for shade and water. The countenances of 
the dead were so blackened as to render it impossible to 
recognize individuals. Several houses in Freehold (Mon- 
mouth Courthouse) were filled with the wounded of the 
enemy left on their retreat in the care of their surgeons 
and nurses. Every room in the courthouse was filled. 
They lay on the floor on straw, and the supplications of 
the wounded and moans of the dying presented a scene of 
woe. As fast as they died their corpses were promiscu- 
ously thrown into a pit on the site of the present (1844) 
residence of Dr. Throckmorton, and slightly covered with 
earth." 

Could there be a more terrible picture of war than this ? 

Two other incidents are perhaps worthy of record. 



244 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

" Captain Cook of the Virginia corps was shot through the 
lungs. He was ordered by his surgeon not to speak. An 
officer came into the room, and on his not answering a 
question, reported him dead. Upon this intelligence 
Washington ordered one of the few coffins to be placed 
under his window. The officer, however, recovered, lived 
for years, and was a frequent visitor in the region." 

A French work has the following : " A general officer of 
the Americans advanced with a score of men under the 
English batteries to reconnoitre their position. His aide-de- 
camp, struck by a ball, fell at his side. The officers and 
orderly dragoons fled precipitately. The general, though 
under the fire of the cannon, approached the wounded man 
to see if he had any signs of life remaining, or whether 
any aid could be afforded him. Finding the wound had 
been mortal, he turned away his head with emotion, and 
slowly rejoined the group who had got out of the reach of 
the pieces. General Clinton knew that the Marquis de La- 
fayette generally rode a white horse ; it was upon a white 
horse the officer who retired so slowly was mounted ; 
Clinton desired the gunners not to fire. This noble for- 
bearance probably saved M. de Lafayette's life, for he it 
was." 

In other ways, however, it is to be feared that Clinton 
was not so careful, for the depredations of the British in 
the vicinity were terrible. Houses, barns, crops, furniture, 
etc., were not spared, and even the aged woman in whose 
house Clinton made his quarters did not escape, for her 
furniture was carried away, hardly a change of clothing 
being left for her or her venerable husband. 

As after the battle of Trenton, so after Monmouth 
many of the Hessians were tempted to desert. They had 



MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 245 

no heart for the war, and the personal solicitations of men 
and the written promise of a good farm — a promise which 
was written on a small piece of paper, and placed within a 
package of tobacco and sent among the Hessians — induced 
many to desert the cause of King George and settle in the 
new land, where, it is a pleasure to relate, the most of 
those who heeded the words became stanch and respected 
citizens of the United States. 

After the battle of Monmouth, as we have already 
learned from Washington's letter, the army was moved to 
the Hudson ; and Washington made his camp at White 
Plains, while his enemy was safe within the shelter of New 
York. Clinton was now afraid that an attack would be 
made upon the city ; but Washington had by this time 
come to the conclusion that hope of final victory lay more 
in trying to hold the redcoats in and keep them from inflict- 
ing damage, and at last in making them so weary of the 
war that they would be glad to abandon it, than in tak- 
ing many chances of open battles, for which the British 
were really much better prepared than he. 

Besides, great things were now expected of the new allies, 
the French ; but the expectations were for the most part 
doomed to failure through no fault of the Americans. 
Count d'Estaing had sailed for America about the middle of 
April, with six frigates and twelve ships-of-the-line, having 
on board a minister for the United States [M. G6rard] 
and the four thousand troops which had been promised. 

They arrived at the mouth of the Delaware July 8th, 
1778 ; but upon learning that the British had gone to New 
York, they too sailed away for that port. An attack was 
planned, but finally, when it was decided that the large French 
vessels could not cross the bar, the plan was changed, and 



246 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

it was decided to go to Newport, the only other port the 
British then held except New York. 

Much was expected of this attack, for General Sullivan 
who was in command at Providence was strengthened by 
a force of picked men under Greene, who was himself 
a Rhode Island man and acquainted not only with the 
people of the state but with every foot of the region it- 
self ; and soon, by the arrival of the neighbouring New 
England militia, the force consisted of nine thousand 
Americans and four thousand Frenchmen, in addition to 
d'Estaing's fleet. 

As Sir Robert Pigot, who was in command at Newport, 
had only about six thousand men all told, it was confidently 
believed every redcoat on the island would soon be a pris- 
oner. And so they would, had not misunderstandings 
arisen between the Americans and their allies, d'Estaing 
having been irritated at what he was pleased to call the un- 
due haste of Sullivan in landing his men at a little hill in 
the northern part of the island, called Butt's Hill. However, 
all might yet have gone well had not, just at the time, 
Admiral Howe appeared with a fleet from New York. 
The French immediately withdrew from the island, and pre- 
pared to fight the ships and the frigates of Howe. For two 
days the two fleets pretended to be eager to "get at " each 
other, though there were people who declared that "one 
was afraid and the other dare not ; " but a terrific storm 
then arose that compelled French sailors and English 
alike to forget all but themselves, and seek for their own 
safety. 

As soon as the French admiral found that the storm was 
past, he insisted upon his soldiers and sailors going to Boston 
to repair the fleet. The same work might have been done 




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MONMOUTH AND NEWPORT 247 

in Providence, but go to Boston he would, despite all the 
protests and offers of aid. 

Very naturally the Americans were indignant at their 
fickle "allies," and the situation was made worse by a 
third of the little army declaring that the British could not 
be driven out of Newport, and that they themselves must 
go home to look after their crops ! This left the Americans 
with only about the same number of men that the British 
had ; and Pigot, the British commander, plucking up 
fresh courage, — for up to this time he had good reason to 
be fearful, — made an attack on Butt's Hill, but was not able 
to drive the Americans away. 

Word was now received that five hundred fresh British 
soldiers were already on their way to Newport from New 
York, so Sullivan withdrew, and the ill feeling between the 
French and Americans became so marked that riots between 
the sailors occurred ; and d'Estaing made matters worse by 
inviting the Canadians to seize the opportunity to become 
Frenchmen again ! So a part of the object of the French 
in offering their aid to the United States became apparent, 
and naturally the Americans were highly indignant. 

But Newport was now abandoned by the British ; and so 
the relief and release of the place were accomplished after 
all, and without bloodshed. In November, 1778, the 
French fleet sailed away for the West Indies, and General 
Clinton at once was compelled to strengthen the English 
forces in those islands ; so when five thousand of the redcoats 
sailed away from New York, fearful that Washington, "the 
old fox," might think it a good time to make that attack upon 
the city of which the British were ever talking, though as 
yet it had failed to appear, the force of Pigot at Newport was 
withdrawn from that town and also brought to New York. 



248 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Indirectly the French had of course helped the Ameri- 
cans by weakening the forces of the British, but directly 
they had done very little. And that the Americans should 
not have been overwhelmed by a feeling of gratitude 
and admiration was not surprising. Perhaps the impulsive 
General Sullivan had given voice to the feelings of many 
besides himself when, in his exasperation, he declared 
"America to be able to procure that by her own arms 
which her allies refused to assist in obtaining." He may 
have been only whistling to keep up his courage, but he 
certainly expressed the desire, if he did not the expectation, 
of the most of his countrymen. 






CHAPTER XXV 

sullivan's expedition, paper money 

It was in this year, 1778, that the troubles with the Indians 
reached such a state as not only to keep the scattered 
settlers on the borders in a state of terror, but also to 
arouse the intense anger and increase the determination 
of those who dwelt in the more thickly populated regions 
to the eastward to continue the struggle with England. 
For at the feet of a few Englishmen was laid the charge 
of arousing the redmen, and encouraging them to join in 
the quarrel between the colonies and the mother country. 

In a large measure the charge was true, and the only 
points that can be raised to shield such men as Lord 
George Germain, who had urged the employment of the 
savages, is that perhaps they did not fully understand just 
how savage and cruel they were. Besides, as the war 
continued, very naturally the hatred of the Tories for the 
" obstinate " Whigs became stronger and stronger, and 
many leaders like Butler, who favoured using the Indians 
in quelling the rebellion, found themselves unable to re- 
strain their allies from their fearful deeds of cruelty after 
a victory had been won. 

In addition to these things, there is no doubt that some 
of the leading redmen were, after their own fashion, 
patriots, and honestly believed that by aiding the redcoats 
in conquering the Americans, they would at the same time 

249 



250 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

banish forever from the land the white men, who were en- 
croaching upon their own abodes. Just what they could 
have done if the British had been successful cannot be 
known ; but in all probability there would have followed 
soon another war between the redmen and the redcoats. 

Brant, or Thayendanegea, was perhaps the foremost 
Indian of them all, and certainly he believed he was 
best serving his own people by trying to exterminate the 
palefaces in America. An old time manuscript asserts 
that after the battle of Brandy wine, " The plan of opera- 
tions for the ensuing campaign was laid, and Mr. Brant 
determined to harass the Frontiers of the Mohawk River 
abt Cherry Valley [illegible], while Sakayenguaraghton 
took the Opportunity of this diversion to cut off the settle- 
ments of Wayoming on the Susquehanna River." 

This border warfare extended into Kentucky and Ten- 
nessee, and also into the valleys of the Middle West wher- 
ever the daring and hardy settlers had gone ; but the limits 
of this work will prevent us from dealing with more than 
two of these battles, or massacres, as they might more prop- 
erly be termed, — those of Wyoming and Cherry Valley. 

Wyoming Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania is one 
of the most beautiful spots in our entire country. To-day, 
the surrounding hills or mountains, the wooded slopes, the 
fertile fields, combine to present a charming picture ; and 
one can hardly be surprised that the redmen and whites 
contended eagerly for its possession. 

In 1762 a little band of settlers had entered the valley; 
but a terrible massacre by the Indians in the following 
year almost drove back the pioneers. The place was too 
tempting, however, to be given up; and so again, in 1769, 
a second colony from Connecticut made their way into the 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION 25 1 

region where their forerunners had so miserably perished. 
The colony of Connecticut claimed this region as theirs by 
the grant of their charter ; but the settlers of Pennsylvania 
boldly disputed the claim, and for a time there was almost 
as much ill feeling, and even bloodshed, between the white 
settlers at Bethlehem and Easton and those of Westmore- 
land in the Wyoming Valley, as there was between the 
Indians and the pioneers. The surrounding Indians were 
unfriendly, and away to the north were the Six Nations 
who had led in the massacre of 1763. The Seneca chief 
Sayenguaraghton, or Kayingwaurto (his name is spelled 
in a dozen or more different ways), had declared of the 
whites — "they have taken their land from us." 

The people of the Wyoming settlement were intensely 
patriotic, and the news of the fight at Lexington and Con- 
cord had so stirred them that the few Tories in their midst 
were practically banished. Tories from the Mohawk Val- 
ley, after the defeat of St. Leger, as well as from other 
parts of the interior, assembled with the Indian warriors 
at Niagara ; and from that fort an expedition started on its 
mission of woe for the valley of the Wyoming. 

Brant had been a leading spirit in planning the move- 
ment ; but he himself was not to go with the men, although 
many historians have represented him as the leading spirit 
of the massacre. The expedition, consisting of from nine 
hundred to twelve hundred men, Indians and Tories, was 
led by the detested Tory, Colonel John Butler, and the 
Seneca chief Sayenguaraghton, or " Old King," as he was 
commonly known by the white men. In 1774 the settlers 
of Wyoming, then numbering almost three thousand, had 
erected five forts near their homes, the strongest of these 
being known as Forty Fort, a large, rude blockhouse, con- 
sidered remarkably safe and strong. 



252 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

June 30th, 1778, was the day when the invading force ap- 
peared before Fort Wintermoot, the first of these defences ; 
and without a struggle it fell into their hands. It was 
declared at the time that its defenders were really Tories 
at heart, and that it was purposely yielded, and without an 
effort to hold it. Fort Jenkins soon afterward was sur- 
rendered ; but by this time the people of the region had 
learned of the approaching force under Butler and Old 
King, and hastily assembled at Forty Fort, where the 
command of the little band of defenders was given to 
Colonel Zebulon Butler, an experienced officer in the Con- 
tinental army, who was at home on a furlough at the 
time. This leader strongly advised that no attempt to 
fight should be made until other companies of men, who 
were known to be advancing through the valley, should 
be given an opportunity to join him. He was overruled, 
however, and in the afternoon of July 3d, the little band 
set forth from Forty Fort, having left strict orders as to 
what was to be done in their absence, and advanced in 
search of the approaching enemy. 

They selected what they thought to be a good place, 
and arranged their little force in a line about five hundred 
yards in length, extending from a marsh to the river, — 
Colonel Zebulon Butler commanding the right wing and 
Colonels Dorrance and Denison the left. They had not 
long to wait before the enemy appeared, and so bold and 
eager were the patriots that they made a rush upon the 
British, who purposely fell back, while Old King led his 
followers around to the rear of the left wing, and then fell 
savagely upon the men who were thus hemmed in. 

An order of Colonel Denison for some of his followers 
to fall back was mistaken for the word "retreat," and a 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION 253 

panic and most horrible massacre followed, — a massacre 
too fearful to be described. 

The manuscript of Claus, already quoted from, declares 
that "At the same time [when the attacks on Cherry 
Valley and Schenectady were made] Sakayenguaraghton 
put his plan into Excution, making every preparation, Dis- 
position, and Maneouvre with his Indns himself and when 
the Rebels of Wayoming came to attack him desired Col. 
Butler to keep his people separate from his for fear of 
Confusion and stood the whole Brunt of the Action him- 
self, for there were but two white men killed [illegible]. 
And then destroyed the whole Settlement without hurting 
or molesting Woman or Child, wch these two Chiefs, to 
their honour be it said, agreed upon before they [went 
into] Action in the Spring." 

Other reports, however, differed materially from this, and 
stories of terrible cruelty and suffering followed. One of 
these was that some of the living surrendered men were 
placed in a double circle around Bloody Rock, and the 
Indian Queen Esther with her own bloody hand hacked into 
pieces the wretched prisoners. At all events, when the 
invading force withdrew from the valley on July 8th, they 
had many more scalps than had been secured in the battle ; 
and as the British had offered ten dollars for each scalp they 
secured, a goodly sum was received by these obedient sub- 
jects of good King George III. The valley itself was a 
scene of smoking ruins, and the beauty of the region was 
marred by the desolation that only roused the army to do 
more. 

After the massacre, the surviving people fled by the 
river, by paths across the mountains, through the forests, 
anywhere, everywhere, to get away from their merciless 



254 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

foes. In one party consisting of a hundred people it is 
said there was only one man. A story is told of one 
woman, a Mrs. Gould, who, with her children, was mounted 
on a horse, but at the sight of the aged or infirm about 
her, she dismounted, gave up her horse, and fled with her 
little ones clinging to her hands. It is a pleasure to know 
that at last she escaped. One young man, after the battle, 
plunged into the river and swam to a small island where 
he concealed himself in the bushes near the bank. Twenty 
of his friends who had not followed his example fell be- 
neath the tomahawk. He himself expected every moment 
that the searching Indians would discover him, but though 
one once stepped upon the very bush beneath which he 
was concealed, he was not found. One brave mother with 
her six little ones succeeded in at last making her way, 
after terrible perils and suffering, to the Connecticut land 
from which she had come. Another, whose five brothers 
had fallen, escaped with six people in a canoe, and, 
without a mouthful of food, started down the river. At 
last, meeting a boat laden with supplies, that was making 
its way up the river to the settlement, their hunger was 
relieved, and all succeeded in reaching Harrisburg after 
a most terrible voyage. 

It was November ioth of the same year when the massacre 
at Cherry Valley, New York, occurred ; and many of the 
attacking party were those who had had a share in the 
horrible work at Wyoming. Houses, supplies, barns were 
burned, and fifty men, women, and children were slain. 
It is claimed by the friends of Brant that he tried to hold 
back the redmen from the slaughter of the innocent, but 
either the report was not true or even his powers failed. 
The band of seven hundred Tories and Indians left of 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION 255 

Cherry Valley only smoking ruins and a name. One or two 
stories will serve to show the character of the assault on the 
peaceful little settlement. 

A young lady (Miss Jane Wells) having escaped from 
her house during the attack, tried to conceal herself in a 
woodpile. An Indian discovered her, and, thrusting his 
scalping knife into its sheath, seized her by one hand while 
he brandished his tomahawk in the other. As she could 
speak the Indian language, she begged him to have mercy 
upon her ; and one of the Tories named Peter Smith, who 
was in the invading party, joined in begging the savage to 
spare her life, pretending that she was his sister (he had at 
one time been a servant in the family). But the Indian 
would not listen, and the poor girl was stretched lifeless 
by a blow. 

A man named Mr. Shankland had removed his family 
from Cherry Valley, when rumours came of the intended 
attack, but, with his son, had himself returned to look 
after his possessions. Just before daylight he heard the 
Indians trying to break in his door with their tomahawks. 
He had two guns in the house, and telling his son to keep 
them loaded, he fired them in rapid succession. But it 
was too dark to enable him to see whether he was inflict- 
ing any damage or not, so he determined to make a rush 
upon his foes, hoping by his very boldness to put them to 
flight. Seizing a spear, he carefully unbarred the door, 
and then, with a yell, started forth. The astonished 
Indians fell back, and one, whom Mr. Shankland could see 
fleeing before him, he closely followed. The redman 
stumbled in his flight over a log, and the furious white man 
struck at him with his spear ; but the spear-head entered the 
wood, and the shaft parted asunder. Wrenching the blade 



256 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

from the log, the intrepid pioneer started swiftly back to 
his house, the shelter of which he gained before his foes 
fairly realized what was going on. 

Meanwhile his son, during the turmoil, had fled from the 
house, and his absence had no sooner been discovered by 
his father than the loud yells of the Indians betrayed the 
fact that he had been captured. 

Still the desperate man fought on, single-handed now, 
the bullets of the Indians frequently coming in through 
the window casements, and he returning the fire as rapidly 
as possible. He was fearful of making another sally, lest 
he should also involve his boy in the death that he be- 
lieved must surely follow. 

At last the wearied Indians succeeded in setting fire to 
the building ; and their loud yells of delight, as well as the 
blaze of the flames, at once betrayed to Mr. Shankland his 
peril. But he was not even yet ready to give up. In 
the rear of the house, and between it and the adjacent 
forest, was a field of hemp ; and the daring man ran from 
the back door for its shelter. Delighted to find that the 
darkness had favoured him, he crept on through the hemp 
field, at last gained the shelter of the forest, and then 
made good his retreat to the Mohawk ; while the delighted 
Indians, waiting until the house had burned to the ground, 
at last having no doubt that the brave man had perished 
in the flames, returned with their prisoner to their fellows 
with shouts of victory. Of such stern stuff were our heroic 
forefathers made. 

The feelings of the patriotic Americans had been so 
aroused by the horrors of these massacres and by the 
reports of similar sufferings in the south and west, that 
Congress, on February 27th, 1779, passed a resolution 



SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION 257 

authorizing Washington to take such measures as seemed 
best to him to punish the Indians and protect the scattered 
settlers. General Washington, after consulting with Colonel 
Zebulon Butler and others who had escaped from the Wyo- 
ming massacre, resolved to strike, and strike hard, and in 
the only manner which the savage allies of the British would 
be able to understand. He therefore resolved that an 
army of five thousand men, consisting of New Jersey, 
New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania troops, should be sent 
directly into the country of the Six Nations, and strike 
such a blow as would teach the offending redmen a lesson 
that was certainly very much needed at the time. 

At first Washington was at a loss to know which of his 
generals should be placed in command. Hundreds of 
miles must be traversed, a way must be found through 
a trackless forest, and by day and by night a merci- 
less and almost invisible foe must be guarded against. 
After a time he concluded to offer the command to Gates; 
but in response to the letter he sent he received the fol- 
lowing reply from that weak and incompetent man : " Last 
night I had the honour of your Excellency's letter. The 
man who undertakes the Indian service should enjoy youth 
and strength, requisites I do not possess. It therefore 
grieves me that your Excellency should offer me the only 
command to which I am entirely unequal. In obedience 
to your command I have forwarded your letter to General 
Sullivan." 

Slight cause for wonder is it that in his letter to Con- 
gress, Washington should have complained as he did of 
Gates's petty reply. " My letter to him on the occasion, 
I believe you will think was conceived in very candid and 
polite terms, and it merited a different answer from the 
one given to it." 



258 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

However, hardy General Sullivan was ready to under- 
take the difficult task, and, while a part of his little army 
went up the Mohawk Valley, led by General James Clin- 
ton, he himself, with the remaining force, moved up the 
Susquehanna. In the latter part of August, 1779, the 
two divisions met, and, joining forces, attacked the Indians 
and the Tories that were assembled at Newtown, the site 
of the present city of Elmira. 

Brant was there, and so were Sir John Johnson and the 
two Colonels Butler, whose cruelty had been believed to 
be even greater than that of their savage allies. In the 
battle that followed, Sullivan's followers were entirely suc- 
cessful ; and, after receiving some losses, the enemy broke 
and fled. 

Then began the further advance of the army under 
Sullivan. Indian towns were burned, crops were destroyed, 
warriors were killed, and all the horrible, but apparently 
necessary, experiences of a struggle with savages were 
endured. Brant was equally active, but he was not able 
to check the advance of the army ; for forty or more of the 
Indian villages were now destroyed. But the long march, 
the increasing sickness, and the lack of provisions be- 
gan to accomplish what the Tories and Indians had 
failed to do ; and at last Sullivan was compelled to turn 
back without having destroyed Fort Niagara, which had 
been one of the great objects of his expedition. 

The power and spirit of the Indians had received so 
severe a blow that they never wholly recovered from it ; 
and though their depredations did not entirely cease, and 
among the terrible forms of revenge used by Brant was 
the destruction of the Oneida tribe, which, as we know, 
had been friendly to the Americans during St. Leger's 



PAPER MONEY 259 

advance into the Mohawk Valley in 1777, and many a 
home of a lonely settler was destroyed by the savage red- 
men, still never again were the experiences of Wyoming 
and Cherry Valley to be repeated. 

It was at this time that the troubles of Washington and 
the army, as well as of the people, were greatly increased 
by something that was only indirectly connected with the 
war. We often hear to-day the expression, " Not worth a 
continental," but not always do we stop to think of what 
it means. In order to pay the expenses of the army and 
of the new government, Congress had been issuing "paper 
money " ; but when a country has more of this than it can 
pay in gold, or its promises to pay are not believed, it 
speedily comes to pass that each "dollar" decreases in 
value, and two or three or more dollars are made to do the 
work of one. 

In 1778, Congress had issued so much of this paper 
money that eight "continental dollars" would only pur- 
chase as much as would one dollar in gold. The British 
and Tories in New York now began to counterfeit this 
money, and this was done so easily and so boldly that the 
farmers and the poorer people, upon whom the burden of 
"cheap money" always falls most heavily, very soon were 
not willing to take any of it in return for their produce or 
labour ; and before the war was brought to an end, the con- 
tinental dollars would hardly purchase anything at all. So 
arose the expression "not worth a continental," by which 
the people who used the term meant that the object offered 
them was utterly worthless. 

It would seem as if the troubles of Washington were 
already more than he could bear. Still, like the strong 
man that he was, he did not complain. Many of his gen- 



26o HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

erals were of no great assistance to him ; Congress was timid 
and fearful ; many of the people were discouraged because 
the war was lasting so long ; there were treacherous men, 
and even traitors among his so-called friends ; but the 
resolute heart of George Washington did not falter. He 
now knew that not by open fighting, for which his enemies, 
in spite of the fact that the Continentals were better dis- 
ciplined than ever they had been before, were better pre- 
pared than he, could he gain the freedom of the nation. 
He must tire the British out. This was his only hope ; 
and now that the French had failed in rendering very 
much assistance, the character of the war, at least in the 
northern part of the country, entirely changed. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE TAKING OF STONY POINT 

In the year 1779 only one event occurred in the nature 
of an open attack. This was the capture of Stony Point, a 
fort on the Hudson, which Sir Henry Clinton had seized in 
his tardy advance in 1777 to the aid of the struggling 
forces of John Burgoyne. 

In July, 1779, Mad Anthony Wayne, with twelve hun- 
dred picked men, resolved to retake this fort. This 
force, after silently and carefully making its way through 
the narrow defiles and across the deep swamps, rendez- 
voused at a place about a mile and a half below the fort. 
Leaving his men there, Mad Anthony and a few officers 
went forward to reconnoitre and form their plans. 

It was resolved that not a bullet should be used, but that 
the men should depend upon their bayonets only ; and for 
such a desperate venture Mad Anthony Wayne was the 
ideal leader. Although this fort was on a high bluff, with 
a swamp in its rear, and the waters of the Hudson on three 
sides of it, and was well equipped with cannon and de- 
fended by brave men, not even these obstacles could 
check this daring and resolute man. 

Pompey, a negro slave of a true-hearted Whig who dwelt 
near the river, had been in the habit of going to the fort 
with strawberries for the officers ; but pleading that his 
tasks for his master would prevent him from coming more 

261 



262 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

in the daytime, he was given permission to come by night, 
and was also informed what the countersign was : " The 
fort's our own." 

Pompey's knowledge was at once used by Anthony 
Wayne. At half-past eleven o'clock that night, July 15th, 
1779, the American soldiers (Massachusetts men, for the 
most part) began to move forward in the darkness. In ad- 
vance were Pompey and two strong men, who seized and 
gagged the first sentinel as Pompey gave the countersign. 
The way was still further cleared, and a little after midnight 
the Americans, having been carefully placed, dashed for- 
ward. In the face of the terrible fire they kept on and 
on, using their bayonets and fighting desperately. A ball 
grazing his head caused Mad Anthony to fall, and as he 
thought himself to be mortally wounded, he called out : 
" March on ! Carry me into the fort, for I will die at the 
head of my column ! " He, however, soon recovered, and 
in a brief time, after a desperate struggle, the fort had 
been taken ; and in sharp contrast to the acts of the Brit- 
ish at Fort Washington and elsewhere, it is said that not 
a redcoat was struck after the garrison had surrendered. 
Only 15 of Wayne's men had been killed in the attack, 
though 83 were wounded. The British had lost 63 killed, 
and Johnston, the commander of the fort, and 543 of his 
men became prisoners of the victorious Mad Anthony, who, 
in his joy, could not wait, but immediately despatched a 
letter to his commander with the news of the wonderful 
victory. 




ISIIIII! 



THE TAKING OF STONY POINT 263 

MAD ANTHONY WAYNE'S LETTER. 

Stony Point, 16th July, 1779. 2 o'clock a.m. 

Dear Gen'l : The fort and garrison with Col Johnston are 
ours. Our officers and men behaved like men who are deter- 
mined to be free. 

Yours most sincerely, 

Ant'y Wayne. 
Gen'l Washington. 

Great as was the rejoicing among the Continentals, and 
strong as was the effect of the capture of the fort, Wash- 
ington clearly perceived that it would be unwise to attempt 
to hold it. It was therefore decided to evacuate it, and an 
attempt was made to carry away the cannon. Although 
this was not successful, the fort was, nevertheless, stripped, 
and when the redcoats entered it again, as they did July 
20th, it was not much more than a stony point indeed. 
Very naturally the country rang with the praises of 
Wayne. Congress voted him a medal, General Wayne 
became a popular toast, and even Charles Lee, who did 
not love Mad Anthony any more than he did Washington, 
wrote him : "I do most seriously declare that your assault 
of Stony Point is not only the most brilliant, in my opin- 
ion, throughout the whole course of the war, on either 
side, but that it is the most brilliant I am acquainted with 
in history ; the assault of Schiveidnitz by Marshal Loudon 
I think inferior to it." 



CHAPTER XXVII 

SUFFERINGS AND EXPLOITS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 

From this time forward the character of the war in the 
north decidedly changed. The policy of Washington was 
not to engage in battles in which he had much to lose in 
case of defeat, and not very much to gain if victory 
crowned his efforts. Of course he was bitterly criticised 
by many of the people who wished to see him sweep the 
enemy into the sea, and so forever free the colonies from 
the yoke that was so galling to them. But Washington, 
who was as well aware of the strength of the British as 
he was of the weakness of his followers, was not to be 
swerved from his purpose, which as we know was to tire 
out or wear out the redcoats rather than to conquer on the 
field. The poverty of the little nation, the lack of men 
and equipments as well as of means, made him see readily 
that his own plan was best, and so, uncomplainingly and 
patiently, he bore the bitter attacks of those who at heart 
were his friends, as well as those who were his open and 
more pronounced foes. 

At this time a series of reverses in the south also tended 
to discourage the struggling patriots. To-day we can un- 
derstand that these apparent defeats in the south all aided 
in securing the final victory in the war; but the considera- 
tion of these events we must leave to another chapter. 

While the opposing armies in the north apparently were 
doing little more than watch each other, both, in a sense, 

264 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 265 

being on the defensive and fearful of the moves of an 
enemy that they had been taught to respect, the scattered 
people of the region were those who now were com- 
pelled to endure hardships and suffering that are almost 
beyond our comprehension to-day. Homes were invaded, 
houses were burned, possessions were seized, outrages 
were committed that were terrible beyond compare. Fam- 
ilies were divided, brothers ofttimes taking opposite sides 
in the struggle, and it frequently became literally true that 
" a man's foes were they of his own household." Neigh- 
bours who had been friends for years were now arrayed 
against one another ; and the most intense and bitter 
hatred felt by the Whigs was first against the Tories, 
then against the Hessians or " Dutch butchers," and last 
of all against the redcoats. 

As an indication of the state of feeling against the 
Tories, the following extract from a patriotic newspaper 
published in June, 1779, will plainly serve: "Rouse, 
America ! Your danger is great — great from a quarter 
where you least expect it. The Tories will yet be the 
ruin of you ! 'Tis high time they were separated from 
among you. They are now busily engaged in undermin- 
ing your liberties. They have a thousand ways of doing 
it, and they make use of them all. Who were the 
occasion of this war ? The Tories ! Who persuaded 
the tyrant of Britain to prosecute it in a manner before 
unknown to civilized nations, and shocking even to barba- 
rians ? The Tories ! Who prevailed on the savages of 
the wilderness to join the standard of the enemy ? The 
Tories ! Who have assisted the Indians in taking the 
scalp from the aged matron, the blooming fair one, the 
helpless infant, and the dying hero ? The Tories ! Who 



266 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

advised, and who assisted in burning your towns, ravaging 
your country, and violating the chastity of your women ? 
The Tories ! Who are the occasion that thousands of you 
now mourn the loss of your dearest connections ? The 
Tories ! Who have always counteracted the endeavours 
of Congress to secure the liberties of this country ? The 
Tories ! Who refused their money when as good as 
specie, though stamped with the image of his most sacred 
Majesty ? The Tories ! Who continue to refuse it ? 
The Tories ! Who do all in their power to depreciate it ? 
The Tories ! Who propagate lies among us to discourage 
the Whigs ? The Tories ! Who corrupt the minds of the 
good people of these States by every species of insidious 
counsel ? The Tories ! Who hold a traitorous corre- 
spondence with the enemy ? The Tories ! Who daily send 
them intelligence ? The Tories ! Who take the oaths of 
allegiance to the States one day, and break them the next ? 
The Tories ! Who prevent your battalions from being 
filled ? The Tories ! Who dissuade men from entering 
the army ? The Tories ! Who persuade those who have 
enlisted to desert ? The Tories ! Who harbour those who 
do desert ? The Tories ! In short, who wish to see us 
conquered, to see us slaves, to see us hewers of wood and 
drawers of water ? The Tories ! " 

In the intense bitterness, which increased as the struggle 
continued, much of any feeling of charity for the honesty 
of mind of those who differed in their preferences was for- 
gotten ; and as the months slowly passed the hatred became 
still more bitter. In New York there was a company of 
Tories known as "The Board of Associated Loyalists," 
and at the head of this board was William Franklin, the 
last royal governor of New Jersey and the son of Benjamin 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 267 

Franklin himself. These men were constantly plotting - 
against their former neighbours, and sending forth expedi- 
tions to plunder when they learned from their spies, whom 
they had sent out in all the surrounding region, that the 
men were not at home. 

As was but natural now the brunt of this fell upon the 
patriots of the near-by regions, and with the exception of 
South Carolina no part of our land suffered as did New 
Jersey and the shore of Connecticut. Small parties would 
be sent from New York, and, sometimes meeting their 
friends by appointment, would burn little hamlets, drive 
away cattle, seize whatever property they cared to take, and 
then go back to their refuge in the city to set forth soon 
on another similar errand. Not always were they success- 
ful, and some of the most bloody and stubborn contests of 
the entire war of the Revolution were those that took place 
between little companies of patriots and the band of invad- 
ing Tories or redcoats. 

July 4th, 1779, the detested Tryon with a force of twenty- 
six hundred men, which had been carried up the Sound by 
the Camilla and Scorpion, two of the British ships of war, 
and by forty-eight tenders and transports, entered New 
Haven Bay ; and to counteract the sentiments aroused 
among the patriots by the celebration of the day they had 
been having, caused a "proclamation" to be scattered 
among the people of the region. It would seem as if 
"proclamations" had already been sufficiently tested ; but 
Tryon, undeterred, now sent forth another, in which he 
mingled threats and promises in such a manner as might 
well have confused even the best of his friends. 

Without waiting, however, for his pompous words to take 
effect, early on the following morning forces were landed, 



268 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

and prepared to march upon the town. The hardy minute- 
men were not idle meanwhile, and hastily assembling 
began to fire at the approaching redcoats and Hessians. 
Although they were few in number, they delayed the in- 
vaders, and some of their men and some of the best of their 
officers fell, but the oncoming body could not be checked. 
Many of the frightened people had fled to East Rock, and 
all through the day watched the movements of the heart- 
less army, and vainly waited for it to depart. 

Twenty-five or more of the Yale boys joined in the 
attempt to beat off the redcoats, and President Daggett of 
the college was also among the defenders. Their best 
efforts were in vain, however, and the president would 
have been killed after he had surrendered had it not been 
for one of his own students, a Tory in the ranks of the 
invaders. When Dr. Daggett was asked if he would take 
up arms again if he should be released, he replied, " I rather 
think I shall." In his own account of the affair he de- 
clares : " I was insulted in the most shocking manner by 
the ruffian soldiers, many of which came at me with fixed 
bayonets, and swore they would kill me on the spot. 
They drove me with the main body a hasty march of five 
miles or more. They damned me, those that took me, 
because they spared my life. Thus amid a thousand in- 
sults my infernal driver hastened me along faster than 
my strength would admit in the extreme heat of the day, 
weakened as I was by my wounds and the loss of blood, 
which at a moderate computation would not be less than 
one quart. And when I failed, in some degree through 
faintness, he would strike me on the back with a heavy 
walking-stick, and kick me behind with his foot. At length, 
by the supporting power of God, I arrived at the Green, 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 269 

New Haven. But my life was almost spent, the world 
around me several times appearing as dark as midnight. I 
obtained leave of an officer to be carried into the widow 
Lyman's and laid upon a bed, where I lay the rest of the 
day and succeeding night in such acute and excruciating 
pain as I never felt before." 

The little body of men who were striving to protect 
their homes was not able to beat off the enemy. The 
town was taken possession of, and for a day and a night the 
brutal soldiers committed such outrages as cannot be 
described. Only a very few houses escaped them, and 
these few belonged to well-known and bitter Tories. Not 
only were houses plundered, but furniture, glass, and valu- 
ables of every kind were wantonly smashed. 

But many of the Tories suffered as did the Whigs. 
Old men were slain, and even sickness was no protection. 
In these brutal deeds the Hessians, who could not of 
course speak English, and were in the war because they 
had been sent into it and given permission to plunder, 
were the worst ; but almost as bad were the Tories. 
Some of the redcoats were not so bad, but others were 
exceedingly cruel, and Tryon perhaps was the worst of 
all. 

It had been their plan to burn the town of New Haven ; 
but the countrymen were assembling so rapidly, and were 
so filled with rage at what was going on, that Tryon, who 
perhaps had not forgotten the expedition he had previously 
led to Danbury, decided to withdraw ; so on the 7th of 
July with his fleet he set sail to the westward. The Ameri- 
cans had had 23 killed and 15 wounded. 

But the British were not yet satisfied with the damage 
they had inflicted, and under cover of a heavy fog landed 



270 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

at Fairfield, where their coming was so unexpected that 
there was scarcely any one there to oppose them. Angered 
by what had occurred at New Haven, and wild with the 
desire of pillaging, small wonder is it that their coming 
struck terror to the hearts of the people in the little town. 

At first the few brave men tried with their cannon to 
make a stand on the village green, but they were soon 
driven from their position. Then the soldiers were let 
loose, and a terrible time followed. Entering the houses, 
it mattered not whether they belonged to Whig or Tory, 
they seized everything of value. They broke open closets, 
smashed chests, and tore buckles and rings from the hands 
of the terrified women and children. To no pleas would 
General Tryon listen ; perhaps he could not have stopped 
the men if he would. 

At last, having satisfied themselves with plunder, they 
began to fire the town. Two or three Tories, whose 
homes were there, served as guides, and pointed out the 
abodes of the patriots ; and as the invaders made their way 
back to their boats, leaving not much besides smoking ruins 
of Fairfield behind them, the militia and farmers followed 
them, firing from behind trees and rocks, and inflicting no 
slight damage upon an enemy who had almost ruined them. 
But at last the fleet set sail for Long Island, and then in a 
few days came back across the Sound, and again they 
destroyed the salt-pans, burned vessels, and set fire to 
houses as they had done before at Fairfield and New 
Haven. 

Such wanton cruelty, such brutality of the soldiers, as 
well as the threats of the British, only made the Connecti- 
cut Whigs more determined than ever they had been. If 
this was the kind of treatment they were likely to receive, 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 2? 1 

then, as one of her heroes said, " they would live in 
poverty ; and never would they live, though palaces were 
offered them, under the rule of such monsters." Tryon's 
name was thoroughly detested ; for though such deeds as 
he had done might have been expected from the uncivilized 
savages, when an Englishman stooped so low he deserved 
the greater blame. So the Yankee Whigs, instead of be- 
ing made submissive by Tryon's threats and raids, were 
only made the more angry and determined. The action of 
the Yale president and students was a sample of the feel- 
ing in that college. At one time a note was sent to one of 
the college boys, who was suspected of being a Tory, 
demanding that he deny the charge. In response he wrote 
the following note : — 

To the Honourable and Respectable Gentlemen of the 

COMMITfEE NOW RESIDING IN YALE COLLEGE. 

May it please your honours — ham — ham — ham — 

Finis cumsistula popularum gig, 

A man without a head has no need of a wig. 

Abiather Camp. 

But Abiather Camp could not withstand the storm he 
had raised, and soon afterward publicly asked to be for- 
given for his offence, and abandoned the Tory side. 

This growing feeling the British were slow to perceive. 
They did not understand it, and so they could find no cure. 
They continued to ridicule the " peasants " and make fun 
of their patriotism, which was about the very best means 
they could have taken to strengthen it. In one of the 
Tory papers a writer ridiculed the colonies and their 
leaders in words which, to us at least, show the feeling he 
did not understand. 



272 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

"Thirteen is a number peculiarly belonging to the 
rebels. A party of naval prisoners lately returned from 
Jersey say that the rations among the rebels are thirteen 
dried clams per day ; that the titular Lord Stirling takes 
thirteen glasses of grog every morning, has thirteen enor- 
mous rum bunches on his nose, and that he always makes 
thirteen attempts before he can walk ; that Mr. Washing- 
ton has thirteen toes on his feet (the extra ones having 
grown since the Declaration of Independence) and the 
same number of teeth on each jaw ; that the Sachem 
Schuyler has a topknot of thirteen stiff hairs which erect 
themselves on the crown of his head when he grows mad ; 
that Old Putnam had thirteen pounds of his posteriors bit 
off in an encounter with a Connecticut bear ('twas then he 
lost the balance of his mind); that it takes thirteen paper 
congress dollars to equal one penny sterling ; that Polly 
Wayne [Polly was the nickname the British had bestowed 
upon Anthony Wayne] was just thirteen hours in subduing 
Stony Point and as many seconds in leaving it ; that a well- 
organized rebel household has thirteen children, all of 
whom expect to be generals and members of the High 
and Mighty Congress of the 'thirteen United States'; that 
Mrs. Washington has a mottled cat (which she calls in a 
complimentary way 'Hamilton ') with thirteen yellow rings 
around his tail, and that his flaunting it suggested to the 
Congress the adoption of the same number of stripes for 
the rebel flag." 

But scurrilous abuse and ridicule never yet have won a 
fight, and then, as ever, they only served to increase the 
rage and strengthen the determination of the men who 
preferred death to servitude. 

It was in New Jersey, however, that the patriotic fami- 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 273 

lies suffered most at this time. The Jersey Tories had 
been particularly bitter, and many of them, when their 
property had been confiscated, had fled to New York, where 
William Franklin and his Board of Associated Loyalists 
were only too glad to fan the flames of their hatred and 
assist them in plundering their former neighbours. As 
many of the Tories disguised their real feelings and re- 
fused to leave their homes, they were of great assistance 
to their friends the enemy, in carrying intelligence of the 
best times in which to make invasions, or when the men 
were absent and so their possessions would be left unpro- 
tected. 

The result was that bands of Tories, assisted by a few 
of the regulars from New York City or by detachments of 
"The Greens," — the name by which the Tories who en- 
rolled themselves as militia willing to fight for King George 
were known, — would sweep unexpectedly down upon some 
lonely farmhouse or unprotected hamlet, and drive away 
cattle, seize whatever valuables they could find, and though 
the patriots of the region would assemble at the alarm and 
pursue the marauders, firing upon them from behind trees 
or fences, almost always the invaders would succeed in 
making their way, frequently with a few prisoners, for 
which the British always offered a reward, back to the 
shore and in setting sail for the city. 

On the shore near Sandy Hook was a little settlement 
known as Refugee Town, where the fugitive slaves and 
rascally whites found a landing-place and a place of shelter 
for the regulars and Tories who came down from New 
York. 

In addition to the Tories, the patriots suffered greatly 
at the hands of the " Pine Robbers." These were numer- 



274 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

ous bands of reckless men who made "the pines" of New 
Jersey their headquarters. It was almost impossible to 
discover their hiding-places and not safe for any, except 
a large force of men, to enter the region. From their 
strongholds they would set forth, usually in the night-time, 
and attack some household which they had already learned 
was undefended. Frequently they tortured the women to 
make them disclose the place where the sock in which the 
little money the family had was concealed. 

The villains declared they were in favour of neither side 
engaged in the war ; but somehow the Whigs suffered 
more at their hands than did their neighbours. Perhaps 
this was due to the fact that the pine robbers, after they 
had hidden away a goodly store in the places of conceal- 
ment they had dug in the sand-hills among the pines, 
would load their booty some dark night on a swift ves- 
sel, and sail away for New York, where they found a ready 
market for their wares. 

As illustrations of their methods, the following incidents 
recorded in an early work 1 may be cited : " One of the lead- 
ers of one of the worst of these gangs was a blacksmith 
named Fenton. On one occasion he had robbed a tailor's 
shop, and word was sent him by the angry Whigs that if 
he did not return the clothing within a week he would be 
hunted and shot. Somewhat alarmed by the threat, Fen- 
ton returned the property, and with it sent the following 
note : ' I have returned your rags. In a short time I am 
coming to burn your barns and houses and roast you all 
like a pack of kittens.' 

" One summer night this villain with his band attacked 
at midnight the dwelling of Mr. Thomas Farr, in the 

1 " Historical Collections of the State of New Jersey," by Barber and Howe. 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 275 

vicinity of Imlaystown. The family, consisting of Mr. 
Fair and wife, both aged, and their daughter, barricaded 
the door with logs of wood. The assailants first attempted 
to beat in the door with rails, but being unsuccessful fired 
through a volley of balls, one of which broke the leg of 
Mr. Farr ; then, forcing an entrance at a back door, 
they murdered his wife, and despatched him as he lay help- 
less on the floor. His daughter, though badly wounded, 
escaped ; and the gang, fearing she would alarm the neigh- 
bourhood, precipitately fled without waiting to plunder. 

"After perpetrating many enormities, Fenton was shot 
under the following circumstances : Fenton and Burke beat 
and robbed a young man named Van Mater of his meal as 
he was going to mill. He escaped, and conveyed the infor- 
mation to [Light-Horse Harry] Lee's Legion, then at the 
[Monmouth] courthouse. A party started off in a wagon 
in pursuit, consisting of a sergeant, Van Mater, and two 
soldiers. The soldiers lay in the bottom of the wagon 
concealed under straw, while the sergeant disguised as a 
countryman sat with Van Mater on the seat. To increase 
the deception two or three empty barrels were put in the 
wagon. On passing a low groggery in the pines, Fenton 
came out with pistol in hand, and commanded them to 
stop. Addressing Van Mater he said : — 

" ' You rascal ! I gave you such a whipping I thought 
you would not dare show your head.' Then, changing the 
subject, inquired, 'Where are you going?' 

" • To the salt works,' was the reply. 

" ' Have you any brandy ? ' demanded the robber. 

" ' Yes. Will you have some ? ' 

" A bottle was given him ; he put his foot on the hub of 
the wagon-wheel, and was in the act of drinking when the 



276 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

sergeant touched the foot of one of the soldiers, who arose 
and shot the pine robber through the head. Carelessly 
throwing the body into the wagon they drove back furi- 
ously to the courthouse, where, on their arrival they jerked 
out the corpse by the heels, as though it had been that of 
some wild animal, with the ferocious exclamation, 'Here 
is a cordial for your Tories and wood-robbers.' 

" Another of the worst of the leaders of these gangs was 
Fagan. His deeds were so terrible that at last a force of 
two hundred men and boys was organized, and Fagan was 
pursued to his death. Some time after the burial the in- 
furiated people disinterred the remains, and, after heaping 
indignities upon it, enveloped it in a tarred cloth and sus- 
pended it in chains, with iron bands around it, from a 
large chestnut tree about a mile from the courthouse, on 
the road to Colt's Neck. There hung the corpse in mid- 
air, rocked to and fro by the winds, a horrible warning to 
his comrades and a terror to travellers, until the birds of 
prey picked the flesh from its bones, and the skeleton fell 
piecemeal to the ground. Tradition affirms that the skull 
was afterward placed against the tree with a pipe in its 
mouth in derision." 

These horrible examples, taken from many that might 
be given, serve well to show the nature of the struggle of 
the lonely people in New Jersey, and its terrible effect on 
the evil passions of all who engage in war. 

At one time a young Jerseyman named Stephen Ed- 
wards, a Tory himself and the son of a Tory, enlisted 
among the forces of the king in New York. Venturing 
one night to visit the home of his father, where his young 
wife was staying during the absence of her husband, his 
presence was suspected by the watchful militia ; and, sur- 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 277 

rounding the house, they demanded that Stephen should 
come forth and give himself up. As no response to the 
hail was made, they forced their way into the house, 
and searched it thoroughly until they came to the room of 
young Mistress Edwards. Disregarding the pleadings of 
the old man, they gave the young woman time in which 
to dress, and then entered, and at once perceived some one 
in the bed. Apparently it was a woman, for the face was 
almost concealed by a huge nightcap. 

" Who is this ? What have you here ? " demanded the 
leader. 

" My serving-woman, with whom I am compelled to 
share my room," stammered young Mrs. Edwards. 

A quick seizure of the nightcap revealed the face of 
Stephen Edwards, and as papers were also found in his 
pocket in which he had been directed by the Board of 
Loyalists in New York to find out the number of de- 
fenders and all he could learn as to the property of the 
region, and the best way of plundering it, the young sol- 
dier was declared to be a spy, and, despite his protests, 
was taken to the courthouse and hanged, as a score or 
more of the pine robbers had been treated before him. 

Naturally, the affair produced a great excitement in the 
region, and Captain Joshua Huddy, who had been active 
in the work, became the object of the bitter hatred of the 
refugees, the Tories, and the loyalists in New York. He 
was one of the leaders of the militia, and was doing his 
utmost to protect the people from the invaders. So many 
homes had been destroyed, so many people had been 
killed, and there was such a veritable reign of terror that 
Captain Huddy and the other leaders found their hands 
full. 



278 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

One time Captain Huddy was in charge of the little fort 
at Tom's River. Less than a score of men were with him, 
and, for the time, they were trying to protect the salt 
works in the vicinity. These salt works were one of the 
few sources of income to the government, and were the 
special objects of attack on the part of the Tories. A 
large force of these, together with refugees and pine 
robbers, attacked Captain Huddy and his followers in the 
fort, and, after a desperate contest, succeeded in making 
him a prisoner. They carried him in irons back to the 
city ; and a few days afterward Lippencott, a Tory refugee, 
with a few others, by the orders of William Franklin, took 
the captain down to the Jersey shore, erected a rude 
gallows, and hanged the patriot, leaving upon his breast 
the following placard : — 

UP GOES HUDDY FOR PHIL WHITE 

Philip White was a pine robber, and had been shot as 
he tried to escape from the hands of the little party which 
had striven to take him for the murder of Mr. Russell, one 
of the patriots of New Jersey. 

The anger of the people at the death of the noble Huddy 
— for he was a true man — was intense. Washington was 
appealed to ; and he, by the order of Congress and the 
advice of his generals, wrote Sir Henry Clinton that the 
men who had hanged Huddy must be given up, or he 
himself would retaliate by hanging one of the prisoner 
captains of the British. 

Sir Henry, without doubt, would gladly have given up 
the men who had killed Huddy; but Benjamin Franklin's 
son William, the most bitter Tory of them all, was in- 
volved, and so no one was surrendered. Washington 




'wbr 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 279 

retaliated, and compelled four British captains to "draw 
lots " to see who should die as Huddy had. The lot was 
drawn by young Captain Asgill, only nineteen years of 
age, the son of an English nobleman. The strongest 
of pleas were made in his behalf. Lady Asgill, his 
mother, besought King George to interpose ; the French, 
as allies and friends of the Americans, were besought to 
add their influence in behalf of the unfortunate young 
officer. The sentence, however, was kept suspended over 
his head until the war was practically ended, when he 
was released and permitted to return to his home in 
England. In all probability Washington had not intended 
any of the time that the young officer should suffer death, 
but hoped that the suspended sentence would prevent the 
Tories from committing other crimes of a similar nature. 

All along the Jersey shore at this time little privateers 
were busy. The character of this part of the warfare may 
be learned by the following extract from the New Jersey 
State Gazette : — 

"June 23, 1779. An open boat called the Skunk, 
mounting two guns and twelve men, belonging to Egg 
Harbor, sent in there, on Wednesday last, a vessel with 
a valuable cargo, which makes her nineteenth prize since 
she was fitted out. Upon one occasion this boat had 
quite \_sic\ an adventure when commanded by Captain 
Snell and John Goldin. They thought they had discov- 
ered a fine prize off Egg Harbor in a large ship wearing 
the appearance of a merchantman. The boat approached 
cautiously, and, after getting quite near, the little Skunk 
was put in a retreating position, stern to the enemy, 
and then gave him a gun. A momentary panic ensued. 
All at once the merchantman was transformed into a 



280 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

British 74, and in another moment she gave the Skunk 
such a broadside that, as Goldin expressed it, ' the water 
flew around them like ten thousand waterspouts.' She was 
cut some in her sails and rigging, but by hard rowing made 
good her escape, with Goldin to give the word, ' Lay low, 
boys ! lay low, for your lives ! ' " 

From Cape May to Sandy Hook this was a sample of 
what was going on. The Americans could not hope to do 
anything before the British frigates ; but their whale-boats, 
manned sometimes by twenty or more oarsmen, and the 
fleet little sloops did great damage. Sometimes they were 
severely punished for their rashness, and sometimes the 
great guns of the enemy's boats inflicted great damage ; 
but the hardy pioneers, ready with boat or musket, were 
not daunted, and until the end of the Revolution were 
busy all along the shore. 

The deeds of one of these men is especially worthy of 
record. Captain Adam Hyler at one time had been a sailor 
in the British navy, but at the outbreak of the war, despite 
the threat that if he should be taken he would be hanged 
from the yard-arms, he joined his countrymen in their effort 
to establish the freedom of the United States. He made 
his headquarters at [New] Brunswick, built many whale- 
boats, and had a stanch band of followers. These men 
practised rowing in the long, swift whale-boats until they 
could drive them over the water almost as silent as the 
shadow of a moving cloud, and with the speed of the wind. 
The boats were concealed along the shores of the Raritan 
River and Amboy Bay, and woe betide the luckless vessel, 
no matter what its size, which ventured to despise these 
humble foes, or to relax its vigilance even for one night. In 
case it did, over the waters of the bay these silent whale- 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 28 1 

boats would be driven by the daring men, and many a time 
the unsuspecting crew of some vessel would find themselves 
prisoners and their good ship seized, before they were fully 
aware that they were being attacked. Of course no great 
deeds were attempted by Adam Hyler and his bold men, 
that is, great in the sense of the numbers engaged, but his 
efforts were a perpetual menace and an unfailing source 
of annoyance and fear. One or two examples selected from 
the records of their many bold deeds, will best serve to 
illustrate the character of the warfare waged by the bold 
followers of the still bolder Captain Hyler. 

"Oct. 7, 1781. On Friday last Capt. Adam Hyler 
with one gunboat and two whale-boats, within a quarter of 
a mile of the [British] guardship at Sandy Hook attacked 
five vessels, and after a smart conflict of fifteen minutes 
carried them. The hands made their escape and took 
refuge in a small fort in which were mounted twelve swivel- 
guns, from which they kept up a continual firing ; notwith- 
standing which he boarded them all without the loss of a 
man. He took from them fifty bushels of wheat, a quan- 
tity of cheese, several swivels, a number of fusees, one cask 
of powder, and some dry-goods. . . . After which he set 
all on fire, save one, on board of which was a woman and 
four small children, which prevented her from sharing a 
similar fate." 

"Oct. 15, 1781. On the 13th inst. Capt. Adam Hyler 
with one gunboat and two whale-boats boarded one sloop 
and two schooners, which all the hands except two had left 
to go ashore on Sandy Hook, and brought them off. Being 
pursued, one of the schooners running aground by accident 
was stripped and left, and the other with two prisoners was 
brought safely to port." 



282 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Another instance was thus related by one of the pris- 
oners taken : " I was on deck on a very pleasant evening 
with our sentinel fixed. Our vessel was at anchor near 
Sandy Hook and the Lion man-of-war about a quarter of a 
mile distant. It was calm and clear, and we were all admir- 
ing the beautiful and splendid appearance of the full moon. 
While we were thus attentively contemplating the serene 
luminary, we suddenly heard several pistols discharged into 
the cabin, and turning around perceived at our elbows a 
number of armed people, fallen as it were from the clouds, 
who ordered us to surrender in a moment or we were dead 
men. Upon this, we were turned into the hold and the 
hatches barred over us. The firing, however, had alarmed 
the man-of-war, who hailed us and desired to know what 
was the matter. As we were not in a situation to answer, 
Captain Hyler was kind enough to do it for us ; telling them 
through his speaking trumpet that all was well. After 
which, unfortunately for us, they made no further inquiry." 

Perhaps the most daring of all the deeds of Captain Hyler 
was his attempt to take Lippencott, the murderer of Cap- 
tain Huddy. " On inquiry he learned that Lippencott 
resided in a well-known house in Broad Street, New York. 
Dressed and equipped like a man-of-war press-gang, with 
his men he left the Kills with one boat after dark, and 
arrived at Whitehall about nine o'clock. Here he left his 
boat in charge of three men and then passed to the resi- 
dence of Lippencott, where he inquired for him and found 
he was absent and gone to a cockpit. Thus failing in his 
object, he returned to his boat with his press-gang and left 
Whitehall ; but finding a sloop lying at anchor off the Bat- 
tery, from the West Indies, and laden with rum, he took 
her, cut her cables, set her sails, and with a northeast wind 



SUFFERINGS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 283 

sailed to Elizabethtown Point ; and before daylight had 
landed from her and secured forty hogsheads of rum. He 
then burned the sloop to prevent her recapture." 

Of course all efforts were not equally successful, but 
even when a British frigate destroyed the whale-boats, the 
daring patriots quickly rebuilt them, and continued the only 
efforts they could make against the powerful navy of their 
foes. Adam Hyler himself did not live to see the peace 
come for which he fought, but his successors were numer- 
ous and the petty warfare was maintained to the end. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

MINOR ENGAGEMENTS. ARNOLD AND ANDRE 

Each of the northern armies during these closing years 
of the war was striving to tire out the other, and only 
minor engagements between the opposing forces occurred. 
A few of these will serve to show the general character 
of the struggle as it was carried on in the north. 

Near the close of the summer of 1779, after the seizure 
and abandonment of Stony Point by General Wayne, Major 
Lee (" Light-Horse Harry ") advanced upon Paulus Hook, 
the ancient name of Jersey City, at that time a sandy pen- 
insula on which the British had erected a fort of consider- 
able strength, garrisoned at this time by Clinton's men. 

Major Lee had three hundred men ; and behind him, as a 
reserve force, came also a band of Stirling's followers. As 
the Continentals marched from the place they had been 
holding on the Hudson, the people of the region thought 
but little of their advance, for foraging parties were com- 
mon, and doubtless they thought that this was one of them. 
It was three o'clock in the morning of August 19th, 1779, 
when Major Lee, having carefully arranged his little force, 
advanced stealthily upon the fort. The sentinels were 
sleeping in their sense of false security, and before any one 
fairly realized what had taken place, one hundred and fifty- 
nine British soldiers were prisoners in Lee's hands, with 
whom he quickly withdrew, rather than attempt to attack 

284 



MINOR ENGAGEMENTS 285 

the stronger circular redoubt into which the remaining 
part of the garrison had quickly withdrawn. For this gal- 
lant deed Lee received the thanks of Congress, and a gold 
medal was also given him. 

In the following year Light-Horse Harry, with Mad 
Anthony Wayne and some of the troops, horse and 
foot, was sent to storm the blockhouse at Bergen Neck, 
and attempt to drive within the American lines the cattle 
the British had there. Although the attack upon the 
blockhouse was spirited, the guns were too light to produce 
any marked effect, and so the dragoons returned to the 
camp, though they succeeded in driving before them a 
large number of cattle. This "attack" became a source of 
sport and ridicule, and Major Andre, whose name we shall 
soon hear again, wrote a poem entitled "The Cow Chase," 
which afforded the redcoats much amusement at the time. 
This " poem " consists of three cantos, and its character 
may be learned from the following extracts : — 

" At six, the host with sweating buff 
Arrived at Freedom's Pole 
When Wayne who thought he'd time enough 
Thus speechified the whole : 

" '■ O ye whom glory doth unite 
Who freedom's cause espouse 
Whether the wing that's doomed to flight 
Or that to drive the cows ; 

" ' Ere yet you tempt your further way 
Or into action come, 
Hear, soldiers, what I have to say 
And take a pint of rum.' 

" Then from the cask of rum once more 
They took a ready gill 
When one and all they loudly swore 
They'd fight upon the hill." 



286 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

In the summer of 1780, a large force of the enemy 
crossed from Staten Island to Elizabethtown, and started 
across the county to attempt to drive Washington from 
his camp at Morristown ; but speedy messengers were sent 
in every direction, the alarm was given, the "old sow," 
a cannon kept upon a hilltop to warn people of the coming 
of the enemy, was fired, and soon a crowd of men and boys 
were so harassing the redcoats and Hessians by their fire 
from behind the trees and fences, that they were glad to 
retire. 

A few days afterward, the British under the lead of 
Clinton once more attempted the same thing ; but at 
Springfield the farmers and militia rallied, and from an 
advantageous ground fought so desperately that, alarmed 
also by the reports of what Washington was doing and 
where he was, once more the redcoats retired, having 
suffered quite a severe loss, and the camp at Morristown 
was still unmolested. 

One of the most pathetic stories of the Revolution is 
that of the death of Mrs. James Caldwell at the time just 
mentioned. Her husband, the Reverend James Caldwell, 
had, with the men of the Presbyterian church he served 
at Elizabethtown, fought bravely for the cause of the colo- 
nies. Indeed, he had preached from his pulpit when a 
pistol lay on each side of his Bible and a row of muskets 
was in the front of the church ready for instant use. So 
strong had his efforts been that the British had offered a 
reward for him dead or alive, as they had also for Governor 
Livingstone. 

At this time Parson Caldwell had sent his family to a 
near-by place in the country for safety, and when the Hes- 
sians were marching past the house occupied by his wife, 



MINOR ENGAGEMENTS 287 

she, with a maid and her youngest child, retired to a 
secluded room. There, looking out of the window the 
maid said : — 

"A redcoat soldier has jumped over the fence, and is 
coming up to the window with a gun." 

The baby, two years of age, called out, " Let me see ! 
Let me see ! " and ran toward the maid. 

Mrs. Caldwell rose from the bed on which she had been 
sitting, and at that moment the soldier fired his musket 
at her through the window. It was loaded with two balls, 
both of which passed through her body. 

Naturally, the death of Mistress Caldwell roused the 
people and soldiers to a fearful pitch of excitement, and 
Parson Caldwell fought as never he had fought before. 
In the heat of the contest at Springfield the wadding for 
the guns unexpectedly gave out, but the parson rushed 
into the old church by the roadside, and coming forth with 
his arms filled with many well-worn copies of Watts' 
hymns, shouted : " Now put Watts into them, boys ! Give 
'em Watts ! " 

Doubtless all those men knew by experience that it was 
possible to beat learning into boys, but to shoot men with 
Watts' hymns — that was another matter. But they drove 
back the redcoats ! 

CALDWELL, OF SPRINGFIELD, N.J. 

Here's the spot. Look around you. Above on the height 
Lay the Hessians encamped. By that church on the right 
Stood the gaunt Jersey farmers. And here ran a wall — 
You may dig anywhere and you'll turn up a ball. 
Nothing more. Grasses spring, waters run. flowers blow, 
Pretty much as they did ninety-three years ago. 
Nothing more, did I say ? Stay one moment, you've heard 



288 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Of Caldwell, the parson, who once preached the Word 

Down at Springfield ? What ! no ? Come — that's bad ; why, he had 

All the Jerseys aflame ! And they gave him the name 

Of the " rebel high priest." He stuck in their gorge, 

For he loved the Lord God and he hated King George. 

He had cause, you might say ! When the Hessians that day 

Marched up with Knyphausen they stopped on their way 

At the a Farms, 11 where his wife, with a child in her arms, 

Sat alone in the house. How it happened none knew 

But God — and that one of the hireling crew 

Who fired the shot. Enough ! there she lay, 

And Caldwell, the chaplain, her husband away ! 

Did he preach ? Did he pray ? Think of him as you stand 

By the old church to-day ; think of him and that band 

Of militant ploughboys ! See the smoke and the heat 

Of that reckless advance — of that straggling retreat ! 

Keep the ghost of that wife, foully slain, in your view 

And what could you — what should you, what would you do ? 

Why, just what he did ! They were left in the lurch 

For the want of more wadding. He ran to the church, 

Broke the door, stripped the pews, and dashed out in the road 

With his arms full of hymn books, and threw down his load 

At their feet ! Then above all the shouting and shots 

Rang his voice — " Put Watts into 'em — boys, give 'em Watts !" 

And they did. That is all. Grasses spring, flowers blow, 

Pretty much as they did ninety-three years ago. 

You may dig anywhere and you'll turn up a ball — ■ 

But not always a hero like this — and that's all. 

— Bret Harte. 

Such skirmishes were not few nor infrequent, and 
occurred, for the most part, near the places where the 
armies were encamped. But the main struggle dragged 
on, and apparently was no nearer the end with every 
passing month. Money had depreciated in value until it 
was practically worthless, and the colonies or "states " had 
few common bonds. Many were weary of the long war 
and hopeless of ever gaining their freedom, and the reports 
that came from the south were very discouraging. Still it 



ARNOLD AND ANDRfe 289 

is at just such a time that the qualities of a great man shine 
forth. It is easy enough to keep up heart when all things 
move in our favour, but to be brave when others despair 
tests the stuff of which strong men are made. 

It would seem as if the feeble little country and its 
lion-hearted leaders had all that they ought to bear ; but 
at this very time a blow fell upon them that was almost 
crushing in its weight. And that was the treason of 
Benedict Arnold. What wonder is it that the noble- 
hearted Washington wept like a little child when he could 
no longer doubt its truth ! 

We have already seen how Arnold had suffered from 
the envy, injustice, and pettiness of his rivals and the 
incompetency of some of the leading men. His rage at 
the treatment he had received — and he certainly had cause 
for complaint, for he had laboured as few had done and 
displayed a bravery that was heroic — might have led him 
into serious trouble on the field, had he not been wounded 
in the fight with the forces of John Burgoyne, when, 
against the wish if not the order of Gates, he had ridden 
at full speed against the redcoats, and, by his example, 
roused his comrades and won the day. 

Severely wounded in the leg, and therefore unfitted for 
service on the field, he had been placed in command at 
Philadelphia after the withdrawal of the British under Sir 
Henry Clinton from that city in 1778. As soon as Con- 
gress returned to the city, an opportunity was given, which 
a man as impulsive and hot headed as Benedict Arnold 
was certain to use, to have many a quarrel. And quarrel 
he did, for, blaming the members of Congress and the 
board of war for the injustice he had suffered, it was but 
natural that hard things should be said by both parties. 



290 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

In addition to these things, Arnold entered into the social 
life of the city, for which by nature he was much better 
adapted than many of his rough-mannered but true-hearted 
comrades in the war ; and that, too, had a marked effect 
upon him. 

Without doubt the young girl, Margaret Shippen, who 
became his wife also had much to do with the change. No 
one would ever think of accusing her of being the cause of 
her husband's treason, but indirectly there can be no doubt 
that she, at the very least, did not retard him, though she 
never knew of his plan until the fatal moment arrived 
when he fled for his life. Her family were known to be 
sympathizers with the king's side. Their home was a 
beautiful one, and in the preceding winter had been the 
resort of many of the young British officers ; and in the 
Mischianza, Margaret Shippen had had a leading part. In 
her home she had been accustomed to hear the Continentals 
held up to ridicule for their rough and boorish appearance, 
in such marked contrast to the well-dressed and polite 
young officers of the British. So the whole influence of 
the family upon this bright and beautiful young girl had 
been to make her feel almost ashamed of her own country- 
men, and her own indirect influence upon Arnold had 
naturally been of a similar kind. 

But Benedict Arnold, handsome, bold, dashing, was an 
exception to his fellows ; and his manners and bearing at 
once appealed not only to Margaret Shippen but to her 
aristocratic family as well. Arnold was a " gentleman " 
in their estimation, for they looked only upon the surface. 
As he was naturally fond of society, and lived in the best 
of style, having his coach and four and giving the most 
elaborate of dinner parties and lavish entertainments, his 



ARNOLD AND ANDRE 29 1 

manner of living also appealed to the Shippens. But they 
did not realize to what lengths these extravagances were 
leading the reckless officer, and soon he was in dire 
straits for money with which to pay his debts. And all 
this time he was quarrelling with Congress, and arrogantly 
demanding from them what they were not disposed to 
grant. So keen was Arnold's demand for money that he 
even went to the French to secure a " loan," which natu- 
rally, under the circumstances, was not granted ; and the 
refusal only made the debt-laden man the more desperate, 
for money he must have, and soon. 

At last the quarrel became so heated that specific charges 
were made against Arnold, one of which was that he was 
using the position he held as a means of making money 
for himself, and a court-martial was ordered. The bravery 
of the man, his former services, and his recognized ability 
inclined the men who tried him to be lenient, and he was 
virtually acquitted of the charges ; but in order not to 
make the members of Congress more angry than they 
already were, it was decided that Washington, who was 
known to have a very friendly feeling for his brave com- 
rade-in-arms, should administer a public reprimand. 

Mildly as possible, Washington did as the court directed, 
striving at the same time to save the feelings of Arnold and 
not increase the rage of the members of Congress, who felt 
that their own dignity had been assailed. The commander 
is said to have spoken to Arnold, when he was brought be- 
fore him to receive the reprimand, as follows : " Our pro- 
fession is the chastest of all. Even the shadow of a fault 
tarnishes the lustre of our finest achievements. The least 
inadvertence may rob us of the public favour, so hard to be 
acquired. I reprimand you for having forgotten that, in 



292 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

proportion as you had rendered yourself formidable to our 
enemies, you should have been guarded and temperate in 
your deportment to your fellow-citizens. Exhibit anew 
those noble qualities which have placed you on the list of 
our most valued commanders. I will furnish you, as far 
as it may be in my power, with opportunities of regaining 
the esteem of your country." 

But Arnold was in no mood to receive even the mild 
words of the great commander. Already goaded by the 
injustice with which he had been treated (and that he was 
treated unjustly no one can deny), tormented by the lack 
of money with which to pay the many debts he owed, and 
hearing constantly his former friends and comrades held 
up to ridicule for their lack of elegance and their boorish 
manners, he had been for a considerable time in corre- 
spondence with the enemy. He had written, with a feigned 
handwriting, letters which he signed " Gustavus " ; and the 
replies had come signed by "John Anderson," which was 
the fictitious name assumed by Major Andre, one of the 
best of the younger British officers. This young man had 
been in Philadelphia the preceding winter, and at many of 
the festivities had met Margaret Shippen, with whom he 
had formed a strong friendship. 

If Benedict Arnold had in a sudden fit of rage deserted 
to the enemy, or if he had really come to believe that the 
cause of the Americans was hopeless, and had gone over 
to the other side because of his belief, then in spite of his 
dastardly act some slight charity might still be found for 
him. But coolly and deliberately for many months he had 
been carrying on the correspondence, and his treachery, 
therefore, has not the shadow of a shade of an excuse. 
If he had been a truly great man, he would have borne his 



ARNOLD AND ANDRE 293 

insults in patience, just as Washington was doing ; and 
time would have set him right before the world. But his 
vanity was wounded, and his desire for money had become 
so keen that as truly as Judas did he sold himself for silver, 
and, too, like Judas, in reality he only betrayed himself. 

Washington, who, as has been said, liked Arnold and 
sympathized with him, was really desirous of giving him 
an opportunity to restore himself, and believed that as soon 
as he was engaged in the active conflict he would forget 
his troubles and win for himself a name that would be 
remembered, now offered him a command in the army. 
But Arnold was now plotting to betray his commander, 
his country, and his countrymen, and believed that West 
Point would be the best place to give over, for Washington 
had been busy in erecting some forts along the Hudson, 
of which the most prominent one was at West Point. The 
French had come to Newport, and Sir Henry Clinton was 
inclined to attack them there; but the moment he prepared 
to move, Washington also prepared to attack New York, 
so Clinton gave up the project for the time. The scheme 
then was for the British to pretend to move in another 
direction, and when the Americans had been misled by 
the action, then a sudden movement up the Hudson was 
to be made, and Arnold was to exchange and scatter the 
forces he had, so that easily West Point and other places 
would fall into the hands of the redcoats. 

There is not the slightest foundation for the story that 
the British were trying to " buy " Arnold. It was Arnold 
himself who made the offers, and it was only natural that 
Clinton should be ready to receive his proposals. For his 
treachery Arnold was to receive a sum of money and a com- 
mission as brigadier-general in the army of King George. 



294 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Major Andre sailed up the Hudson on the Vulture, and 
after landing, met Arnold, with whom he had a conference 
on the shore that lasted almost all night. Clinton had 
urged him to wear his uniform, and not to attempt to con- 
ceal any papers on his person ; but the light-hearted 
and too confident young officer disregarded both pieces of 
advice, for he neither wore his uniform nor refused to 
receive the papers in which Arnold had given a full ac- 
count of the men, the defences, and the places on the 
Hudson. These papers Andre placed between his stock- 
ings and shoes. 

Some of the near-by patriots had opened fire upon the 

Vulture in the darkness, and to avoid the shot from an 

unseen enemy, the vessel dropped farther down the stream, 

so that Andrd could not return to New York as he had 

come. But Arnold had given him a pass which read as 

follows: — 

Head Quarters Robinson 
House Sep 1 22' 1780 

Permit Mr. John Anderson to pass the 
grounds to the White Plains or below 
if He chooses. He being on public 
Business by my Direction. 

B. Arnold 11 Gen'l. 

Equipped with this pass, Andre felt safe, and started 
across the country toward White Plains, where he expected 
to find the British outposts. Near Tarrytown, he was 
stopped by three men, John Paulding, David Williams, and 
Isaac van Wart. At first the major mistook these men 
for Tories, and so somewhat boldly declared the side to 
which he belonged ; but when he perceived his mistake, it 
was too late to change, even Arnold's pass not satisfying 




- 



ARNOLD AND ANDR6 295 

his captors. Then he offered them a hundred guineas to 
let him go, and even raised the offer to four hundred ; but 
the men refused to listen, and took him to one of their 
officers, who ordered him to be searched ; and as his shoes 
were the first articles of clothing to be removed, the 
papers given him by Arnold were immediately discovered. 

Not in any way suspecting that Benedict Arnold was 
mixed up in the affair, Colonel Jameson, the officer to 
whom Andr6 had been brought, sent word to Arnold of the 
capture of the spy, and instantly the traitor knew that his 
own part had been, or would speedily be, discovered. He 
was seated with his young wife at the breakfast table, and 
with them were Hamilton and others who had gone with 
Washington to Hartford to meet some of the newly arrived 
Frenchmen, and consult with Rochambeau. This very 
morning they had returned, and the younger members of 
the party had gone in advance of Washington to Arnold's 
quarters, in their desire to be the guests of Mrs. Arnold, 
who two days before this time had brought her baby to 
West Point and joined her husband. 

This party was at the breakfast table when the letter 
was handed to Arnold which informed him of his desper- 
ate plight. Excusing himself from the company, the 
traitor retired to his room, where he summoned his wife 
and informed her of his peril. Overcome by the shock, 
the girl wife screamed and fainted in his arms ; but there 
was no time given for her husband to look to her wants. 
Placing her upon the bed and hastily kissing their baby, 
Arnold rushed from the house, leapt on the back of his 
horse, and rode swiftly down an unused path to the shore 
of the river, where he was taken on board a barge, and by 
the eight waiting men rowed swiftly eighteen miles down 



296 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

the stream to the place where the Vulture was at anchor, 
and there he was safe. Once on board the ship, Arnold 
quickly wrote a letter to Washington in which he declared 
that his young wife was innocent of any part or knowledge 
of his treachery, and entreated that she might be per- 
mitted to go to her father's house in Philadelphia, or to 
come to him should she so desire. 

This letter, in addition to other papers, at once showed 
Washington the plot and the traitor. From Mrs. Arnold 
he could learn nothing, for the poor woman was in hyster- 
ics, and amidst her sobs and tears declared that Washing- 
ton himself was to blame, that he was the murderer of 
her baby boy, and guilty of other similar charges. Moved 
as Washington was by the discovery of the treason, he 
did not blame the wife, and even took pains to tell her 
after he had received Arnold's letter that her husband was 
safe among the British. 

The first thing to be done was to look to the defences, 
and this was what Washington did. The next was to 
decide as to the fate of Andre\ The young prisoner had 
written a frank letter to Washington in which he told the 
entire story, and declared that he was not a spy. This, 
however, was yet to be decided ; and a commission of four- 
teen generals, of which Greene was at the head, decided 
that Andre" was a spy, and must be executed as such. 

The decision, though it was recognized as just, caused 
profound sorrow, not only among the British, but among 
the Americans as well. Some even proposed that if Clin- 
ton would give up Arnold, Andre's life should be spared ; 
but Sir Henry was in duty bound to live up to his prom- 
ise to the traitor, and of course refused to listen to the 
proposal. 



ARNOLD AND ANDRfi 297 

Major Andre\ when he found there was no hope for him, 
begged that he might be shot instead of being hanged, but 
even this request Washington felt obliged to refuse. It 
was a terrible time, and made worse by reports that came 
from the British that other American generals were in 
the plot and were coming over to the British side. This 
report was not true ; but coming as it did at the time of 
Arnold's treason, it made all fearful, and the leaders knew 
that only the sternest of measures must now be used. 

The execution of Andre" was delayed until October 2d, 
1780. The plans could not be changed, and Andre had to 
die. His breakfast on that fatal morning was sent him by 
Washington himself, and Andre ate it calmly. Indeed, he 
was the calmest of all, and said to the servant in his 
room, who was in tears, " Leave me until you can show 
yourself more manly." To the guard officers he said 
cheerfully, "I am ready at any moment, gentlemen, to 
wait on you." Major Andre walked quietly from the 
stone house in which he had been confined, arm in arm 
with the two officers who had been sent to conduct him to 
the gallows. The eyes of all the assembly were fixed upon 
him, but apparently he was the most unmoved of all. 

When he perceived the gallows he faltered for a moment, 
and then rallying, said, " I am reconciled to my death, but 
I detest the mode. It will be but a momentary pang." 
He held up his arms, and with his own hands bandaged his 
eyes with one of the two handkerchiefs the provost marshal 
had with him, and then with the other his arms were pin- 
ioned. Many were now in tears, but Andre" was still calm. 
He stepped upon the wagon, and himself adjusted the 
noose. When he was asked if he had anything to say, he 
replied calmly, " I pray you to bear me witness that I meet 



298 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

my fate like a brave man." The wagon was then started, 
and in a few brief minutes John Andre" was with his Maker. 
What a shame that such a man had to die while the arch- 
traitor, Arnold, could live ! 

Mrs. Arnold went first to Philadelphia, but some letters 
of Major Andre to her, in which he had offered to make 
some purchases for her in Newport, were found; and it was 
at once concluded that she must have been a party to the 
treason, and that these words meant more than appeared 
upon the surface. There was not a word of truth in the 
charge, but the Philadelphia men believed it, and she was 
ordered to leave. 

As she rode across New Jersey on her way to join her 
husband in New York, she found many tokens of hatred for 
the traitor. In many towns he was being burned in effigy, 
and one place was just preparing the fire when she entered. 
Out of respect to her the "celebration" was delayed until 
she had passed on. She rejoined her husband and after 
the close of the war resided with him for a time in St. 
Johns, New Brunswick, where it is said "she was much 
praised for her beauty and fascination," and afterward 
lived in England. Although she survived her husband 
three years, she must have suffered much, for she was 
only forty-three years of age at the time of her death. 
Only one of her four sons was born in America, but there 
was not one of her children who did not feel ashamed of 
his name. 

The storm which Arnold's treason aroused may be best 
understood by the means the people took of showing their 
indignation. In many places he was burned in effigy. A 
plot was formed for his capture in New York, but it failed, 
though the men who entered the town to seize him were 



ARNOLD AND ANDRfe 299 

bold and brave. In Philadelphia, where he was detested 
more than in any other place, the following " exhibition " 
took place, as related by the Pennsylvania Packet, in an 
issue of October, 1780: — 

"This afternoon (Sept. 30) the people of Philadelphia 
and vicinity made a demonstration somewhat unfavourable 
to the late commander at West Point, by carting that noto- 
rious conspirator through the streets of the city. The ex- 
hibition was as follows : A stage on the body of a cart, 
in which was an effigy of General Arnold sitting ; this was 
dressed in regimentals, had two faces, emblematical of his 
traitorous conduct, a mask in his left hand, a letter in his 
right from Beelzebub, telling him that he had done all the 
mischief he could do, and now he must hang himself. 

"At the back of the general was a figure of the Devil, 
dressed in black robes, shaking a purse of money at the 
general's left ear, and in his right hand a pitchfork, ready 
to drive him into hell, as the reward due for the many 
crimes which his thirst for gold had made him commit. 

" In the front of the stage, and before General Arnold, 
was placed a large lantern of transparent paper, with the 
consequences of his crimes thus delineated, i.e.: On one 
part, General Arnold on his knees before the Devil, who 
is pulling him into the flames; a label from the general's 
mouth with these words, ' My dear sir, I have served you 
faithfully;' to which the Devil replies, 'And I'll reward 
you.' On another side, two figures hanging, inscribed, 
'The Traitor's Reward,' and written underneath, 'The 
Adjutant-general of the British Army, and Joe Smith ; the 
first hanged as a spy, and the other as a traitor to his 
country.' And on the front of the lantern was written 
the following: — 



3<DO HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

" Major-General Benedict Arnold, late Commander of the Fort, 
West Point, The crime of this man is High Treason. 

" He has deserted the important post, West Point, on Hudson 
River, committed to his charge by his Excellency, the Commander- 
in-chief, and has gone off to the enemy at New York. 

" His design to have given up this fortress to our enemies, has 
been discovered by the goodness of the Omniscient Creator, who 
has not only prevented him carrying it into execution, but has 
thrown into our hands Andre, the Adjutant-general of their army, 
who was detected in the infamous character of a spy. 

" The treachery of this ungrateful general is held up to pub- 
lic view, for the exposition of infamy, and to proclaim with joyful 
acclamation, another instance of the interposition of bounteous 
Providence. 

" The effigy of this ingrate is therefore hanged (for want of his 
body) as a traitor to his native country and a betrayer of the laws 
of honour. 

" The procession began about four o'clock, in the follow- 
ing order : Several gentlemen mounted on horseback, a line 
of Continental officers ; sundry gentlemen in a line ; a 
guard of the city infantry ; just before the cart, drums and 
fifes playing the 'Rogue's March'; guards on each side. 

"The procession was attended with a numerous con- 
course oi people, who, after expressing their abhorrence of 
the treason of the traitor, committed him to the flames, and 
left both the effigy and the original to sink into ashes and 
oblivion. 

" In addition to this procession, copies of the following 
letter were scattered among the people in order to give 
expression to the feelings which Arnold's treason had 
aroused : — 

" A htter from his Infernal Majesty, Burlatarra Beelze- 
bub, to A.lan Buzrael, commonly called Benedict Arnold, a 



ARNOLD AND ANDRE 301 

true copy of the original which he had in his hand before 
he was burnt, in Philadelphia, Sept. 30, 1780: — 

" Faithful Buzrael, — You remember that before we sent you 
into the world to prepare the ruin of America (the worthy object 
of our indignation being by its situation capable of more virtue 
than any country in the world), we ordered you to begin by great 
exertions of bravery ; to gain the affections of the inhabitants, and 
bestow on yourself their confidence and their friendship. You 
succeeded very well in this business, and you were even skilful 
enough to seduce associates to your operations, some powerful citi- 
zens of their country, whom we shall reward in time for their great 
achievements. We assure you of our royal satisfaction in this par- 
ticular, and we are glad to see that you obtained the title of a 
general, in which dignity you may be able to do more mischief 
than in any other. But we cannot approve of the choice you 
made of your face, which has something roguish in it, and does 
not quite inspire all that confidence we expected. We understand, 
by some savages, both English and Americans, lately arrived in 
our dominions, that what they call the virtuous citizens of America, 
suspect you very much of being an enemy to their country. We 
see with great abhorrence that, notwithstanding all your secret 
intrigues, the independence of America acquires every day more 
strength and solidity. Their commerce is flourishing more than 
ever, their country affords them every kind of provisions, their 
patriotism grows more and more invincible. We deplore with our 
friends in England the good condition of their army, and the 
bravery of their soldiers. Our kingdom trembles at the very name 
of Washington, and we detest him as much as he is adored by his 
countrymen. We expect that you will find some effectual means 
to deliver us from this powerful enemy, but particularly to put an 
end, by a capital stroke, to all the pretensions of that people, and 
we flatter ourselves that after their subjection they will be in a few 
years as corrupted, as wicked, as cruel as their mother-country. 
We rely entirely upon your abilities, but at the same time we 
require a prompt execution of our orders. 

" Your affectionate king, 

" Beelzebub." 



302 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Poor Benedict Arnold ! Detested by the Americans and 
despised by the very British to whom he had gone, his life 
was to end in ignominy and disgrace. The space that be- 
longed to him on the beautiful monument that marks the 
place of his wonderfully brave fight at Saratoga is left 
vacant ; and the place he once held and might have kept in 
the hearts of his countrymen is filled, not with the picture 
of one whom men delight to honour, but one whom they 
despise. He was untrue to himself, and so could not be 
true to any man. But before his end came, he was to 
increase the bitter hatred his countrymen felt for him by 
other and evil deeds. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

THE REVOLT OF THE SOLDIERS. THE PRISON SHIPS 

The life of the soldiers in the American camps, at least 
in the northern army, was one which it is difficult to 
describe. The very fact that but few open engagements 
with the redcoats were possible, — for each army seemed to 
be bent upon holding the other in the position it occupied, 
the British being in New York, and the Americans not 
far away, in the vicinity of the city in the highlands of the 
Hudson or among the hills of New Jersey, — all this kept 
the soldiers in a perpetual state of anxiety and inactivity. 
Added to these things was the failure to receive much of 
the pay that was due them, and the little they did receive 
was of slight value owing to the "cartloads " of counter- 
feits the British in New York made and scattered. Natu- 
rally, as a result, the vices that are only too common in 
camp life multiplied, the hunger and homesickness in- 
creased, and perhaps among many came a feeling of despair ; 
for with the slowly passing years the outcome of the strug- 
gle seemed almost as far away as when the war had been 
begun. Log or stone huts or ragged canvas tents afforded 
them insufficient shelter from storm and cold, and provi- 
sions at times were so scanty that hunger was no stranger 
to the camps. 

In a letter to a friend, General Washington wrote at 
this time : " We have had the virtue and patience of the 

3«3 



304 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

army put to the severest trial. Sometimes it has been 
five or six days together without bread, at other times as 
many days without meat, and once or twice two or three 
days without either. I hardly thought it possible, at one 
period, that we should be able to keep it together, nor 
could it have been done but for the exertions of the magis- 
trates in the several counties of this state (Jersey), on whom 
I was obliged to call, expose our situation to them, and in 
plain terms declare that we were reduced to the alternative 
of disbanding or catering for ourselves unless the inhab- 
itants would afford us their aid. . . . Nothing but this 
great exertion could have saved the army from dissolution 
or starving. ... At one time the soldiers ate every 
kind of horse food but hay. Buckwheat, common wheat, 
rye, and Indian corn composed the meal that made their 
bread. As an army, they bore it with heroic patience ; 
but sufferings like these, accompanied by the want of 
clothes, blankets, etc., will produce frequent desertions in 
all armies ; and so it happened with us, though it did 
not excite a single mutiny." 

Washington learned, however, that it not only could, 
but that it did, cause mutiny to arise. The officers them- 
selves fared no better than the men. At Morristown, one 
day early in January, 1780, Mrs. Thompson, the Irish house- 
keeper of the commander, came to him and said, " We have 
nothing but the rations to cook, sir." 

"Well, Mrs. Thompson," replied the general, "you 
must then cook the rations, for I have not a farthing to 
give you." 

" If you please, sir, let one of the gentlemen give me an 
order for six bushels of salt." 

" Six bushels of salt ! For what ? " 



THE REVOLT OF THE SOLDIERS 305 

" To preserve the fresh beef, sir." 

One of the aides gave the order, and the next day his 
Excellency's table was, in a measure, provided for. Mrs. 
Thompson was sent for and told that she had done very 
wrong, for it was not known when she could be repaid. 
"I owe you too much, already," said Washington, "to 
permit the debt being increased ; and our situation is not 
at this moment such as to induce a very sanguine hope." 

"Sir," she replied, "it is always darkest just before day- 
light, and I hope your Excellency will forgive me for barter- 
ing the salt for some of the necessaries that were on the 
table." Salt was valued at eight dollars a bushel at the 
time. 

In Thatcher's Military Journal occurs the following 
record of a soldier's words : — 

" On the 3d we experienced one of the most tremen- 
dous snow-storms ever remembered. . . . Several mar- 
quees were torn asunder and blown down over the officers' 
heads in the night, and some of the soldiers were actually 
covered while in their tents, and buried like sheep under 
the snow. My comrades and myself were roused from 
sleep by the calls of some officers for assistance ; their 
marquee had blown down, and they were almost smothered 
in the storm before they could reach our marquee, only a 
few yards ; and their blankets and baggage were nearly 
buried in the snow. We are greatly favoured in having 
a supply of straw for bedding ; over this we spread all our 
blankets, and, with our clothes and large fires at our feet, 
while four or five are crowded together, preserve ourselves 
from freezing. But the sufferings of the poor soldiers can 
hardly be described ; while on duty they are unavoidably 
exposed to all the inclemency of storms and severe cold ; 



306 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

at night they now have a bed of straw on the ground and 
a single blanket to each man ; they are badly clad, and 
some are destitute of shoes. . . . The snow is now five or 
six feet deep, which so obstructs the roads as to prevent 
our receiving a supply of provisions." 

Under such circumstances it is not strange that repeated 
complaints came to Washington that some of the soldiers 
were stealing the poultry, pigs, and even the cattle of the 
people dwelling in the region. The sternest and strictest 
of orders were issued against this practice, but still many 
of the hungry men persisted. The punishment of death 
was inflicted in a few flagrant cases, but the general 
method of punishment was by a public whipping, the 
number of stripes varying in proportion to the offence. 
No one was punished without a fair trial, and as many as 
a hundred lashes were sometimes laid on the bare back 
by the drummers and fifers to whom was assigned this 
terrible task. Some of the hardened men were accustomed 
to place a bullet between their teeth and chew it while 
they were receiving their lashing, and it is recorded that 
sometimes the bullet was " flat and jagged " when the 
torture ceased, for the whip was made of several knotted 
cords, " which sometimes cut through the skin at every 
stroke." 

Another mode of punishment was by "running the 
gauntlet." " This is done by a company of soldiers stand- 
ing in two lines, each [man] furnished with a switch, and 
the criminal is made to run between them and receive the 
scourge from their hands on his naked back." It is not 
without a gleam of sympathy that we read that "frequently 
the delinquent runs so rapidly, and the soldiers are so apt to 
favour a comrade, that it often happens in this way that 



THE REVOLT OF THE SOLDIERS 307 

the punishment is trivial ; but on some occasions a soldier 
is ordered to hold a bayonet at his breast to impede his 
steps." 

The lighter side of camp life was not entirely neglected, 
however, and many festivals were planned, particularly by 
the wives of the officers, many of whom spent all the time 
they could spare from their families with their husbands 
in the camps. The cheery, brave, and patient endurance 
by the wife of General Greene of the sufferings of the 
camps is a frequent cause of comment, and her influence 
was almost as great over the soldiers as it was over her 
illustrious husband. Mrs. General Knox was another 
helpful woman, and her "parties" and "functions " in the 
camps are frequently mentioned. Then there was the 
celebration of great days, notably of the anniversaries of 
the Declaration of Independence and of the alliance with 
France. At such times " droll processions " were formed, 
and effigies of prominent Tories or redcoats were carried 
about, — King George, Lord North, and Lord George Ger- 
main being the favourites. After the march these effigies 
were burned, and as " an extra gill of rum was served each 
soldier," doubtless the hilarity lasted far into the night. 

But hunger, homesickness, despair, and, more than all, 
the failure to receive their pay at last had so strong an 
effect that the dreaded mutiny came to pass, and the fol- 
lowing quotation will explain it in detail : — 

THE REVOLT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LINE 

The Pennsylvania line of troops, consisting of about 
two thousand men, in winter quarters in the vicinity of 
Morristown, have come to the desperate resolution of 



308 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

revolting from their officers. Though the Pennsylvania 
troops have been subjected to all the discouragements and 
difficulties felt by the rest of the army, some particular 
circumstances peculiar to themselves have contributed to 
produce the revolt. When the soldiers first enlisted, the 
recruiting officers were provided with enlisting rolls for 
the term of three years, or during the continuance of the 
war ; and as the officers indulged the opinion that the 
war would not continue more than three years, they 
were perhaps indifferent in which column the soldier's 
name was inserted, leaving it liable to an ambiguity of 
construction. It is clear, however, that a part enlisted for 
three years, and others for the more indefinite term, "dur- 
ing the war." The soldiers now contend that they enlisted 
for three years at furthest, and were to have been dis- 
charged sooner, in case the war terminated before the 
expiration of this term. The war being protracted beyond 
the time expected, and the officers knowing the value of 
soldiers who had been trained by three years' service, are 
accused of putting a different construction on the original 
agreement, and claiming their services during the war. 
The soldiers, even those who were actually listed for the 
war, having received very small bounties, complain of 
imposition and deception, and their case is extremely 
aggravated by the fact that three half-joes have now been 
offered as a bounty to others who will enlist for the 
remainder of the war, when these veteran soldiers have 
served three years for a mere shadow of compensation ! 
It was scarcely necessary to add to their trying circum- 
stances a total want of pay for twelve months and a state 
of nakedness and famine, to excite in a soldier the spirit 
of insurrection. The officers themselves, also feeling 



THE REVOLT OF THE SOLDIERS 309 

aggrieved and in a destitute condition, relaxed in their 
system of camp discipline, and the soldiers occasionally 
overheard their murmurs and complaints. Having ap- 
pointed a sergeant-major for their commander, styling him 
major-general, and having concerted their arrangements, 
on the first day of the new year [1781] they put their muti- 
nous scheme into execution. On a preconcerted signal, the 
whole line, except a part of three regiments, paraded 
under arms without their officers, marched to the maga- 
zines and supplied themselves with provision and ammuni- 
tion, and seizing six field pieces, took horses from General 
Wayne's stable to transport them. The officers of the 
line collected those who had not yet joined the insurgents, 
and endeavoured to restore order, but the revolters fired and 
killed a Captain Billing, and wounded several other officers,, 
and a few men were killed on each side. The mutineers com- 
manded the party who opposed them to come over to them 
instantly or they should be bayoneted, and the order was 
obeyed. 

General Wayne, who commanded the Pennsylvania 
troops, endeavoured to interpose his influence and authority, 
urging them to return to their duty till their grievances 
could be inquired into and redressed. But all was to no 
purpose, and, on cocking his pistol, they instantly pre- 
sented their bayonets to his breast, saying, " We respect 
and love you ; often have you led us into the field of battle, 
but we are no longer under your command ; we warn you 
to be on your guard ; if you fire your pistol or attempt to 
enforce your command, we shall put you instantly to death." 
General Wayne next expostulated with them, expressing 
his apprehension that they were about to sacrifice the 
glorious cause of their country, and that the enemy would 



310 HISTOk/ OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

avail themselves of the opportunity to advance and improve 
so favourable an occasion. They assured him that they 
still retained an attachment and respect for the cause 
which they had embraced, and that, so far from a dis- 
position to abandon it, if the enemy should have to come 
out of New York, they would, under his and his officers' 
orders, face them in the field, and oppose them to the 
utmost in their power. They complained that they had 
been imposed on and deceived respecting the term of 
their enlistment, that they had received no wages for more 
than a year, and that they were destitute of clothing, and 
had often been deprived of their rations. These were their 
grievances, and they were determined to march to Phila- 
delphia, and demand of Congress that justice which had so 
long been denied them. They commenced their march in 
regular military order, and, when encamped at night, they 
posted out pickets, guards, and sentinels. General Wayne, 
to prevent their depredations on private property, sup- 
plied them with provisions, and he, with Colonels Stewart 
and Butler, officers whom the soldiers respected and 
loved, followed and mixed with them to watch their 
motions and views, and they received from them respectful 
and civil treatment. On the third day the troops reached 
Princeton, and by request of General Wayne they deputed 
a committee of sergeants, who stated to him formally in 
writing their claims, as follows : ist, A discharge for all 
those, without exception, who had served three years 
under their original engagements, and had not received 
the increased bounty and reenlisted for the war. 2d, An 
immediate payment of all their arrears of pay and cloth- 
ing, both to those who should be discharged, and those 
who should be retained. 3d, The residue of their bounty. 



C&&&, r» 








f &W8L 














THE REVOLT OF THE SOLDIERS 311 

to put them on an equal footing with those recently 
enlisted, and future substantial pay to those who should 
remain in the service. To these demands in their full 
extent General Wayne could not feel himself authorized 
to reply in the affirmative, and a further negotiation was 
referred to the civil authority of the state of Pennsylvania. 
General Washington, whose headquarters were at New 
Windsor on the west side of the Hudson, received the 
intelligence on the 3d instant, and summoned a council 
of war, consisting of the general and field officers, to 
devise the most proper measures to be pursued on this 
alarming occasion. Great apprehension was entertained 
that other troops, who have equal cause of discontent, 
would be excited to adopt a similar course. It is ordered 
that five battalions be formed by detachments from the 
several lines, to be held in* perfect readiness to march on 
the shortest notice, with four days' provision cooked ; and 
measures, it is understood, are being taken to bring the 
militia into immediate service if required. 

Intelligence of the revolt having reached Sir Henry 
Clinton, he cherished the hope that, by encouraging a 
rebellion, and turning the swords of our own soldiers 
against their country and brethren, he should have it in 
his power to effect an object, which by his own arms he 
could not accomplish. He immediately despatched two 
emissaries, a British sergeant and one Ogden of New 
Jersey, to the dissatisfied troops, with written instructions, 
that by laying down their arms and marching to New 
York, they should receive their arrearages and deprecia- 
tion in hard cash, and should be well clothed, have a 
free pardon for all past offences, and be under the protec- 
tion of the British government, and no military service 



312 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

should be required of them unless voluntarily offered. 
They were requested to send persons to meet agents 
who should be appointed by Sir Henry Clinton to adjust 
the terms of a treaty, and the British general himself 
passed over to Staten Island, having a large body of troops 
in readiness to act as circumstances might require. 

The proposals from the enemy were rejected with dis- 
dain, and the mutineers delivered the papers to General 
Wayne, but refused to give up the emissaries, preferring 
to keep them in durance till their difficulties could be 
discussed and settled. A committee of Congress was 
appointed, who conferred with the executive council of 
the state of Pennsylvania, and by the latter authority an 
accommodation of the affairs with the revolters has been 
effected, by giving an interpretation favourable to the 
soldiers of the enlistments which were for three years or 
during the war, declaring them to expire at the end of 
three years. The insurgents now surrendered the two 
emissaries into the hands of General Wayne, on the stipu- 
lated condition that they should not be executed till their 
affairs should be compromised, or, in case of failure, the 
prisoners should be redelivered when demanded. They 
were eventually, however, tried as spies, convicted, and 
immediately executed. A board of commissioners was 
now appointed, of whom three were deputed from the 
revolters, authorized to determine what description of 
soldiers should be discharged. The result is that the 
soldiers have accomplished their views ; the committee 
from prudential motives, without waiting for the enlisting 
papers, complied with their demands, and discharged from 
service a majority of the line, on their making oath that 
they enlisted for three years only. The enlisting rolls 



THE REVOLT OF THE SOLDIERS 313 

having since been produced, it is found that by far the 
largest number of those liberated enlisted for the whole 
war. Thus has terminated a most unfortunate transaction 
which might have been prevented had the first complaints 
of the army received proper attention in due season. 

The fear of Washington that the action of the Pennsyl- 
vania troops would lead others to do as they had done, was 
soon realized, for only a few days afterward (January 20, 
1 781) some of the New Jersey troops at Pompton, doubtless 
stirred as much by the success of the Pennsylvanians as 
by the sufferings they were compelled to endure, declared 
that they, too, were about to abandon the service. It was 
a critical time. The men had genuine wrongs, and what 
they were none knew better than the officers themselves ; 
but desperate measures must be employed immediately or 
the army would be lost, so General Washington ordered a 
brigade of Massachusetts troops to go at once from West 
Point to Pompton. The soldiers quickly responded, and so 
unexpected was the arrival of the New England men that 
the revolters were surprised and gave up their arms without 
a struggle. Two of the leaders were condemned to be shot, 
and so by the prompt measures of Washington what threat- 
ened to be the greatest peril the American army had faced 
since the beginning of the war was quelled. The measures 
employed were harsh, but nothing but harsh measures 
would be appreciated at such a time. 

During these years the sufferings of the American 
prisoners in the prisons of New York City were intense ; 
but the men in the sugar houses and churches were almost 
in paradise in comparison with those who were confined 
in the prison ships. These ships were vessels of war 



314 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

which had become unfit for service and were, accordingly, 
brought to New York and anchored near the city, where 
they were overcrowded with the poor fellows who had 
been so unfortunate as to fall into the hands of the red- 
coats. The ships were anchored near the present navy 
yard ; and the Whitby, Good Hope, Scorpion, Prince of 
Wales, Hunter, Stromboli, Falmouth, and other vessels 
were by turn found there. 

The worst of all the prison ships and the one most 
bitterly detested then and now was the old Jersey. At 
first she had been a sixty-four-gun ship, but becoming 
unfit for service was dismantled and anchored in the Wall- 
abocht. The wretched prisoners every night heard the cry, 
" Down, rebels ! down ! " and then were driven by the 
guards into the hold, where the foul air, filth, and crowded 
conditions were almost indescribable. In the morning 
they were greeted with the call, " Rebels, bring up your 
dead ! " Then the dead would be brought up, and if a 
blanket could be had the body was wrapped in it and 
buried in a shallow grave on the Long Island shore. 

The food was insufficient and of horrible quality, the 
brutality of the guards was great, and the suffering of 
the poor prisoners was so severe that it is said more than 
eleven thousand men perished on board the Jersey alone. 
Of course there were numerous attempts to escape. One 
poor fellow, a young preacher, after having gained the 
favour of his guard, was taken ashore to get water one day. 
The guard watched, while the half-starved young prisoner 
brought the water in a heavy bucket from the spring to the 
skiff. Suddenly swinging the pail, he felled the guard 
and dashed toward the near-by woods. 

The startled soldier rose to his feet and, discharging 



THE REVOLT OF THE SOLDIERS 



315 



his gun, gave the alarm to the near-by troops ; but fortu- 
nately he missed his prisoner, who meanwhile had gained 
the shelter of the woods. The pursuit was instantly 
begun, and the old story reads that at one time the young 
preacher encircled a huge tree, his would-be captor moving 
also about it without discovering him. When he gained 
the road, he was compelled to conceal himself for hours at 
a time behind stone walls, in old barns, among the trees, 
or in any place that promised him a brief shelter. Once 
when he applied at a house for aid he was almost recaptured. 
But moving on, at last his strength almost gone, he applied 
at a Quaker's house for food. The good wife listened to 
his tale and then insisted upon putting him in bed while 
she baked his filthy rags, and on the following morning her 
husband carried the wretched man to Sag Harbor, where 
he found a boat and was taken across the Sound to the 
Connecticut shore and was safe. 

Another party of four got away by seizing a skiff in 
which some visitors had come to the prison ship, and 
though they were fired upon, managed to escape. Still 
another party tried to escape on the ice, but, although a 
few did get away, others were so weak they could not 
run, and their frozen bodies were soon afterward found. 

But escape was infrequent, and the guards on shore 
were so strong that almost every attempt resulted in 
failure. Then, too, there were frequent visits of the 
British recruiting officers, who not only urged the men to 
enlist under the banner of the king, but told them how 
the Americans were being steadily defeated, and as the 
wretched prisoners had no other means of learning how 
their countrymen were faring, it is small cause for sur- 
prise that some listened to the appeals and sought relief 



316 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

or the opportunity to escape by enlisting among the red- 
coats. But to the credit of the great body of these 
suffering men be it said that only a very few forgot their 
country or their honour. 

Of late years there has been a movement to honour the 
memory of the prisoners on the Jersey and the other ships 
by the erection of a monument, and certain it is no men 
deserve one more. They could not be exchanged, they 
would not abandon the cause for which they had begun 
the war, and though they had no share in battle, still 
their heroic and patient endurance of suffering is among 
the best parts of our heritage. 

" They also serve who only stand and wait." 



CHAPTER XXX 

THE STRUGGLE IN THE SOUTH 

In the closing years of the Revolution, although the 
suffering and trials of the people in the Northern colonies 
became steadily more intense, the most of the active 
fighting was done in the South. The British had tried 
to conquer the New England people, and had failed. 
They then tried to overcome the men of the Middle 
states, but found them as determined in their resistance 
to King George as the Yankees had been. The very 
victories the armies of the king had won, instead of 
crushing the spirits of the people, had, to all appear- 
ances, only made them the more determined to fight on 
to the end. 

The British were, however, just as strong as the 
Americans in their unwillingness to abandon the contest 
into which they had entered, and now they transferred 
their efforts to the South, hoping that they might accom- 
plish there what they had failed to bring to pass in the 
North. The scattered hamlets and the fact that there 
were but few cities in the South, and the hope that the 
slaves might be induced to rise against their masters, 
were strong inducements of themselves, as well as the 
fact that there was a large number of Tories in some 
of the Southern states. 

The intensity of the feeling among the men of the 
South, no matter whether they were Tories or Whigs, 

317 



318 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

seemed to increase the bitterness of the struggle, and 
although the British were victorious in the most of the 
battles, the very fact of the defeats served only to rouse 
the anger and increase the zeal of the men who were 
fighting for their freedom. The natural result of all these 
things was that the war in the South became a terrible 
struggle, in which cruelty, robbery, and murder played 
so important a part that the record of those years reads 
more like that of the work of brigands and highwaymen 
than it does like that of a sober struggle between men of 
the same race. 

The trouble began in the autumn of 1778, when two 
bodies of Tories and refugees advanced swiftly and unex- 
pectedly from East Florida into Georgia, one party 
moving by boats toward Sunbury, while the other 
marched overland upon the little garrison at Midway. 
When the enemy arrived at Sunbury, they summoned 
Colonel MTntosh, who was in command there, to sur- 
render ; but the doughty colonel sent back the messenger 
with the rough statement that "if the redcoats wanted 
the place, they must come and take it." 

Not thinking they were in sufficient force to do this, 
and perhaps not expecting such a reply to their summons, 
the refugees, like the famous man who marched up the 
hill and then marched down again, decided to return to 
the place from which they had come. The other party, 
though constantly annoyed by the fire of the militia that 
followed them, at last arrived at the Ogeechee River, where 
they found two hundred Continentals waiting and ready to 
dispute their passage. Then they too turned back when 
there came a report of a force of angry patriots already on 
the way from South Carolina; but being strong enough, 



THE STRUGGLE IN THE SOUTH 319 

they stopped at Midway, burned every house there, de- 
stroyed the crops, and carried away all the negroes, horses, 
and valuables upon which they could lay their hands, while 
the frightened planters fled to South Carolina, glad to have 
escaped with their lives. 

General Robert Howe, the leader of the patriot forces, 
determined to retaliate, and accordingly led to St. Augustine 
a force of two thousand men he had assembled, resolved 
to carry the war into the enemy's country. No sooner, 
however, had he approached the town than a terrible sick- 
ness broke out among his soldiers, and he was obliged to 
retreat at once in order to save his men from a peril worse 
than that of bullets. 

The British commander-in-chief now decided to move 
actively against the South, and resolved that Savannah 
should be the first place to fall into his hands. Accord- 
ingly he ordered General Prevost, who was in command of 
East Florida, to advance with his men upon Savannah, and 
at the same time Colonel Campbell was to come from New 
York with a force of twenty-five hundred men whom Sir 
Hyde Parker was to carry to the South on his fleet. On 
December 23d the fleet arrived in the river, and six days 
afterward with little or no difficulty the redcoats were 
landed. 

General Robert Howe was the sturdy American leader 
who was to try to defend and protect Georgia, but he had 
only a small force of about 600 Continentals and perhaps 
250 militia to assist him. However, not in the least dis- 
mayed by the great odds, he with his men took a very 
excellent position which was surrounded' on every side, save 
one, by the river or by deep and impassable swamps ; and 
believing that his little force was strong enough to keep 



320 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

back an enemy that could approach his position only on 
the front, he awaited the issue with considerable confidence. 

His plans were all upset, however, by the treachery of a 
negro slave, who, knowing of a path that led through the 
swamp to the rear of the place held by the Americans, 
informed the British of the approach, and himself led 
the way for the redcoats, who followed him while their 
companions pretended to make an attack in front. The 
scheme was very successful, and the Americans, though 
they fought desperately, were caught in the trap and were 
almost annihilated, for more than ioo of their men were 
killed, while 453 became prisoners, and the guns, ammuni- 
tion, and stores fell into the hands of the victorious and 
elated redcoats. The few Continentals who did escape 
fled into South Carolina ; but Georgia was in possession of 
the British, who now made their headquarters at Ebenezer 
and Augusta, and from these places sent forth their 
trusted men to attempt to arouse the Tories of all the 
adjacent regions. What made the Americans feel even 
worse was the knowledge that at the very time when Sa- 
vannah fell, two thousand true men from North Carolina 
were marching to aid them. 

The efforts of the British to summon the Tories to 
their aid were successful, and several hundred of them, 
including many of the criminals and desperate men who are 
ever quick to seize the opportunity which the lawless times 
of war present, were soon under the command of Colonel 
Boyd, marching along the western border, where they were 
committing crimes and doing deeds that cannot be 
described. 

Their actions served to rouse the Whigs still more, and 
brave Colonel Pickens with a band of picked men from 



THE STRUGGLE IN THE SOUTH 32 1 

the district of Ninety-Six fell upon the banditti, for they 
were nothing less, and after a fight that lasted almost an 
hour, succeeded in driving them from the field, leaving 
their leader and forty men dead behind them. 

Aware of the British designs, General Lincoln had been 
placed in command of the American troops, and after 
receiving the little remnant of Howe's force and being re- 
enforced by the North Carolina men, he had about twenty- 
five hundred under him. At the same time the British 
were strengthened by the arrival of the redcoats from St. 
Augustine, and, elated by their easy conquest of Savannah, 
planned an expedition against Port Royal Island. There 
they landed, February 3d, 1779; but Moultrie was there to 
meet them, and so savagely did he and his men resist that 
the redcoats, after losing nearly all their officers and a 
large number of men, were completely routed. These 
successes were not great, but they were encouraging, and 
surely encouragement was needed, for little but defeat was 
to be faced for some time to come. The anger of the 
Whigs had been so aroused by the action of the Tories 
that seventy of the latter were condemned to death, though 
on sober second thought only five of the leaders were exe- 
cuted. Perhaps if they had stopped for a third thought, no 
one would have been so treated, for about all that was 
accomplished was to increase the hatred already almost too 
bitter to be borne. 

As the British had been extending their posts up the 
river, Lincoln ordered General Ashe with fifteen hundred 
of the North Carolina militia, and the few that were left 
of the Georgia Continentals, to advance upon that part of 
the country. When Ashe went into camp at Brier Creek, 
General Prevost determined to attack him. Pretending 



322 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

that he was about to advance upon Charleston, and by the 
trick preventing Lincoln from coming to- the aid of his 
comrade, and at the same time leading Ashe to believe 
that he was about to attack him in front, he swiftly crossed 
Brier Creek with a large force of men, and gaining the 
rear of the Americans fell upon them with great fury. The 
American militia were so frightened that they fled without 
firing a shot. For a time the hardy Continentals stood 
their ground, but what could they do against so many ? In 
a brief time 300 of them were shot or prisoners, and only 
about 450 made their way back to join Lincoln, for the 
most of the militia that escaped had fled to their homes. 

Although he had lost about one-quarter of his little army, 
Lincoln was not ready to give up. Had he not been in 
the army that had beaten boastful John Burgoyne ? He 
had seen too much to be discouraged now, and after his 
little army had been somewhat strengthened by the com- 
ing of reinforcements, he left one thousand to garrison the 
camps, and with the four thousand now left set forth late 
in April, 1779, to attempt to regain what had been lost. 

General Prevost, with 2400 redcoats and many Indians, 
set forth from his camp, and as Moultrie, who was to 
oppose him, was not able to check the advance, he retired 
toward Charleston, burning or destroying every bridge 
as he went. Thus, having been delayed, when Prevost 
appeared before Charleston and demanded the surrender 
of the town, the people were somewhat prepared to resist, 
and aware as they were that Lincoln's army was coming to 
their aid, held out until the American general was near, when 
the British, fearful that they would be caught between the 
two fires, crossed the Ashley and went into camp on some 
of the near-by islands. Lincoln did not desire a battle, for 



THE STRUGGLE IN THE SOUTH 323 

he was fearful his militia would not stand. When Prevost 
started back toward Savannah, Lincoln attempted to take 
the British post at Stono Ferry ; but his plan failed and 
179 of the 1200 Americans engaged in the attempt were 
lost. With the remainder of his army Lincoln withdrew 
to Sheldon, near Beaufort, while the redcoats hastened 
back to Savannah, and nothing of importance had been 
accomplished. 

So matters remained, each army watching the other, 
until September, when the French Count d'Estaing, with 
his fleet of twenty sail of the line, two fifty-gun ships, and 
eleven frigates, arrived. His coming put fresh courage into 
the hearts of the struggling patriots, though they were again 
to find that their boasted allies were little to be depended 
upon, and as soon as possible after they came Lincoln 
prepared to march upon Savannah. Many of the militia 
had rallied at the call of Lincoln, but the British in Savan- 
nah, well aware of what was going on, had been working 
night and day to strengthen their defences, and to make 
matters still worse, after d'Estaing had demanded a sur- 
render of the place, during the twenty-four hours' grace he 
had granted about eight hundred men from Beaufort suc- 
ceeded in making their way into the town and joined the 
redcoats. Then Prevost declared that he would defend 
Savannah to the very last. 

It was October 4th when the batteries of the besiegers 
opened upon the town, but when several days passed and 
no signs of a surrender appeared, the eager-hearted and 
over-confident militia clamoured for an assault to be made. 
The attacking party seemed to be very strong, for it had 
3500 French troops, some 600 Continentals, and about 350 
militia, and for a time they did make a great fight ; but at 



324 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

last they were beaten back, after more than 600 of the 
French soldiers had been killed or wounded and more 
than 240 of the Americans had been lost. It was in this 
attack that Count Pulaski, the Polish noble who had 
come to fight for the freedom of the colonies, fell, and his 
death, as well as the terrible losses of the troops, so dis- 
heartened the militia that the most of them went back to 
their homes, and d'Estaing, with his troops and fleet, set 
sail from the Western world. 

It was a very discouraging outlook for the Southern 
patriots, but they were yet to learn that their best prom- 
ise of success lay not in attempting to meet the well-drilled 
soldiers of King George in the open field, but in the swift 
and daring attacks made by their own smaller bands. 
Indeed, at this very time, while Savannah was being 
besieged, Colonel John White, with only six men as bold 
as he, captured five British armed vessels which had 
anchored in the Ogeechee River, about twenty-five miles 
from Savannah. In the night of September 30th he kindled 
fires at various places along the bank, and by pretending 
that there was a large encampment there frightened the 
men into surrendering to save themselves from what they 
thought to be an overwhelming attack. In this manner he 
secured about 140 British prisoners. 

And there was need of such boldness, for in the pre- 
ceding May about 2000 soldiers and 500 marines had 
been sent by Clinton to Portsmouth, and such of the 
vessels there as the Americans could not burn fell into 
the hands of the redcoats. Elated by their easy success, 
the British had then gone on to Suffolk, Kent's Landing, 
Gosport, Tanner's Creek, and other places, burning and 
plundering on their way, and it is said that before the raid 



THE STRUGGLE IN THE SOUTH 325 

was ended and the marauding redcoats had returned to 
New York, 130 of the little American vessels had been 
seized or destroyed by them. 

As soon as Sir Henry Clinton in New York learned that 
d'Estaing had really departed from America, he decided to 
go South himself and assist in quickly completing the work 
which had been so well begun by his forces in Georgia. 
Accordingly, he left the Hessian general, Knyphausen, in 
command of the forces in New York, and he himself sailed 
for the South ; but he had a stormy passage, some of his 
fleet was lost, his horses were drowned, and when at last 
on February nth he landed on John's Island, about thirty 
miles from Charleston, it hardly seemed as if he was ready 
for work. But he was, nevertheless, and the South Caro- 
lina Assembly broke up as soon as he came, and General 
Lincoln, who with the little remnant of his army had re- 
turned to Charleston, began to labour hard to strengthen 
the defences of that town. Many (600) of the negro slaves 
were set at work, and Lincoln, who was expecting rein- 
forcements from the North, now began to pluck up heart. 

Clinton had no mind to wait, however, and in a few days 
he moved up nearer the town, and the little fleet of Ameri- 
can boats, unable to resist such a force as Sir Henry had, 
was speedily divested of its guns, which were taken into 
the town and added to the defences there. By this time 
Clinton had sent word to Lincoln that Charleston must be 
surrendered, that the town was invested by land and sea, 
and to attempt to hold it would mean only a great and 
unnecessary loss of life. 

Lincoln, however, sturdily refused, and then the real 
tug of war began. The lines of the British were steadily 
drawn tighter, parties that tried to come to the aid of the 



326 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

patriots were cut off, and meanwhile three thousand addi- 
tional redcoats had come from New York to Clinton's aid. 
At last, on the 12th of IVJay, 1780, the American general 
agreed to surrender. Help had not come to him, the guns 
of the British were creating havoc and suffering, and there 
was no way of retreat left. To fight on would be murder. 

Naturally, the redcoats were delighted over the easy 
conquest and the fact that the Americans had lost the 
little army they had in the South. Clinton at once took 
measures to complete his work. There were many Tories 
in the state, and they speedily came to the front. Clinton 
was very fond of proclamations, and he at once began to 
issue them, promising protection to all Whigs who would 
return, and also offering many inducements for the Tories 
to organize and help keep order in the state. 

The infamous Tarleton was sent out with a force of 
horse and foot to assist the Tories, and to check the patri- 
ots who were said to be coming from North Carolina. A 
force of these was, indeed, on its way, led by Colonel Buford. 
This band Tarleton met and defeated easily, and after the 
men had surrendered, his brutal soldiers, with bayonet or 
sword, killed nearly all the prisoners. " Tarleton's quar- 
ter " became a proverb and did much to rouse and hold 
the desperate Whigs together, and his dastardly deeds in 
the raids he made are a lasting disgrace to his king and 
the cause he represented. 

South Carolina was strangely quiet, however, after the 
fall of Charleston ; and Clinton, misled by the calm, decided 
to leave Cornwallis with four thousand men in the state 
while he sailed back to New York to command the army 
there, and also to keep an eye on " the old fox," as Wash- 
ington was called by the redcoats. The regulars were 




h » 



O 2 
'J fa 

a 




"V 



THE STRUGGLE IN THE SOUTH 327 

posted in various parts of South Carolina, and all the 
enemy felt confident that the region was subdued. 

The quiet was like that before a storm, not that of de- 
spair. Bands of determined men joined their leaders, and 
the most savage and terrible part of the war followed. At 
the head of these forces were men like Sumter, Francis 
Marion, Williams, and others as brave and determined as 
they. Sumter rallied his men across the line in North 
Carolina, and when his followers numbered six hundred, re- 
solved to start on his errand, which was to attack and cut 
off small detachments of the redcoats wherever they could 
be found. He began his work July 10th at Williamson's 
Plantation, where he drove off a large force of the British 
with only about 133 men. Next, with 600 men, he at- 
tacked the British at Rocky Mount, but as he had no can- 
non he failed to dislodge them. Then at Hanging Rock 
he so fiercely attacked the British and Tories posted there 
that he almost annihilated the regiment known as that of 
the " Prince of Wales." 

Meanwhile Congress was resolved to aid, and ordered 
the Maryland and Delaware troops to go to South Carolina. 
Baron de Kalb had been in command ; but as he was a 
foreigner and not acquainted with the men or the country, 
it was deemed wiser to make Gates the leader, but the 
little dandy soon proved that he was not large enough 
for the task. When Gates assumed the command July 27th, 
17S0, the army already was in South Carolina, and he de- 
cided to advance at once upon the British at Camden. 
Disregarding the advice given him, he led the way 
through a barren region that did not seem to produce much 
except Tories, and, though some of the Virginia militia 
joined him, their presence only served to decrease the 



328 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

supplies, and " starvation " became a common word in the 
camps. 

When Gates halted, on the 13th of August, about thir- 
teen miles from Camden, his forces numbered about thirty- 
six hundred men. Cornwallis himself was at Camden with 
about two thousand men ; and as many of his soldiers were 
sick, at first, particularly as the Whigs of the region had 
risen at the coming of Gates, he did not desire to chance 
a battle. But to retreat would be worse, so he decided to 
fight ; and on the night of the 15th led his forces out of 
Camden, hoping to surprise Gates in the darkness. The 
American general, however, had sent away his sick and 
wounded, and at that very time was advancing toward what 
he thought was a better position ; in the darkness the two 
armies met, each almost as surprised as the other. 

At first the American militia began to give way, but 
their courage returned, and until morning both armies 
held their ground, and then a fearful struggle began. 
When the redcoats advanced with a loud shout, the fright- 
ened Virginia militia fled ; but the Continentals held their 
ground and fought desperately, and even with a prospect 
of success ; but after the flight of their friends, they were 
soon surrounded, and as they broke, the cruel Tarleton 
chased them for more than twenty miles with his cavalry. 
Nearly three hundred American prisoners were brought 
back to Camden, and the patriots had lost all their bag- 
gage, artillery, and field pieces as well ; and among the 
many killed was Baron de Kalb. 

Sumter, who seemed to be " always everywhere " before 
the battle of Camden, had sent word to Gates that he had 
found out that a large convoy of supplies for the British 
was on its way from Charleston for Camden, and declared 



THE STRUGGLE IN THE SOUTH 329 

that if Gates would send him four hundred men, he could 
and would capture it. Gates did as he was requested, and 
Sumter promptly took all the stores and three hundred 
prisoners as well ; but hearing that Gates had been de- 
feated at Camden, he began to retreat up the Wateree 
with his spoil. Tarleton's legion was sent after him, and 
at Fishing Creek, near Catawba Ford, rode straight into 
the camp before Sumter could do anything to defend him- 
self. Tarleton easily retook the stores, and almost as 
easily killed or wounded more than three hundred of the 
men, seized all the artillery, and drove the soldiers he could 
not shoot into flight. 

Gates, meanwhile, had rallied what was left of his army 
at Hillsborough ; but so many of Cornwallis's soldiers 
were ill that the British general dared not follow up his 
victory — which was extremely fortunate for Gates. Angry 
at the rising of the Whigs, the British commander sent 
forth some new proclamations, and ordered "that every 
militiaman who had borne arms with the British and after- 
ward joined the Americans should be put to death." 

His order only served to make the desperate patriots 
still more determined, and if they must die they resolved 
to make their death costly to the redcoats. Colonel Fer- 
guson had been ordered by Cornwallis to cut off a force 
which Colonel Clarke had led against the fort known as 
Ninety-Six, and while the British officer was trying to do 
what he had been told to do, the patriots from the moun- 
tains of Virginia and North Carolina had been rallying, 
and now were marching upon Ferguson himself. The 
British colonel heard of their coming and started swiftly 
for Charlotte (North Carolina), where Cornwallis and 
his army were. The militia were so rapidly increasing in 



330 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

numbers, however, that soon there were 3000 of them, of 
whom 1600 were mounted and were experts with the rifle. 

With all Ferguson's efforts, he could not get away ; so, tak- 
ing what he thought to be a good position at King's Moun- 
tain, he waited for the Whigs to come. And they came. 
In three divisions they fell upon the redcoats, and though 
the British fought desperately and with bayonets for an 
hour, Ferguson at last was killed, and then his men 
quickly surrendered. So 1500 stand of arms and 800 
prisoners fell into the hands of the Americans, while 150 
redcoats lay dead upon the field, and as many more were 
wounded. The loss of the Americans was small, although 
some of their best officers fell in the fight. King's Moun- 
tain became a rallying-cry from that day. 

Sumter, although his force had been scattered by the 
savage legion of Tarleton, was in no wise discouraged. 
Soon he had another band of hardy followers, and, by con- 
stantly changing his position, at one time he would be 
heard of at the Broad River, then at the Enoree, and then 
again at the Tyger. Force after force was sent against 
him, but Sumter not only managed to escape, but even 
drove Tarleton from the field when that brutal leader was 
sent to attack him. 

Francis Marion and other leaders were also engaged in 
a similar line of work. Daring and fearless, they would 
dash from their hiding-places upon some detachment of 
the redcoats or a band with stores, and the redcoats lived 
in a state of perpetual uncertainty if not of fear, not 
knowing where next, or upon whom, these silent bands 
would fall. If South Carolina was " subdued," as Clinton 
had declared it to be, it certainly had a very strange 
manner of showing it. 



THE STRUGGLE IN THE SOUTH 33 1 

When Cornwallis heard of the defeat at King's Moun- 
tain, he withdrew with his troops into South Carolina ; but 
when he went into winter quarters, to his surprise and 
disgust he discovered that Sumter and Marion and the 
various other "marauders " had not the slightest intention 
of following his very excellent example, for not one jot did 
they abate their midnight rides or raids. 



CHAPTER XXXI 
greene's work in the south 

These were dark days for the struggling patriots. The 
surrender of Lincoln at Charleston, the series of blunders 
and defeats which the boastful but incompetent Gates had 
suffered, the intense bitterness of the feelings of the 
Tories and Whigs in South Carolina, the prospect of any 
end to the war being very dim indeed, the apparent lack 
of action on the part of the armies in the North, and, above 
all, the want of money, would have disheartened any but 
the most determined of men. 

There were not very many men of wealth in America, 
but a few of these came to the aid of the army with loans 
of their own, the most notable of whom was Robert 
Morris of Philadelphia, as stanch a friend of Washing- 
ton as he was of liberty itself. Some loans also at this 
time were secured from France, or made by other coun- 
tries after France had promised to become responsible for 
their payment ; but where so much was required, even 
these considerable sums were little more than " a drop in 
the bucket." 

Early in the year 1779 young Lafayette had returned to 
France, and so eloquently had he pleaded the cause of the 
little nation that at last it was decided to send to America 
a fleet of seven ships of the line, and three frigates, and 
a force of six thousand men. Of the troops, Count Ro- 

33* 



GREENE'S WORK IN THE SOUTH 333 

chambeau was to be in command, and the Americans were 
to find in him a friend indeed as well as the friend in need. 
Admiral de Ternay was in command of the fleet, and it was 
understood that all men and officers were to be placed 
under Washington's direction, and so it was hoped that 
the irritation that had attended the former relations of the 
two countries would now be prevented. It was to meet 
and consult Rochambeau at Hartford that Washington had 
gone when the plan of Benedict Arnold to betray West 
Point was to have been put into execution, but the return 
of the American commander sooner than Arnold had 
expected had thrown the traitor's plans into confusion, 
and had compelled him to flee for his life. 

In July, 1780, the French fleet and troops arrived at 
Newport, and not only were the hearts of the Americans 
rejoiced at the coming of their allies, but they were 
cheered by the promise of still more men and vessels yet 
to come. But the British were yet to be reckoned with, 
for with their own stanch vessels they prevented the addi- 
tional troops from setting sail for America, and for a time 
kept the French fleet at Newport "bottled up," so that it 
did not dare to leave the shelter of the harbour; and so 
the Americans were compelled to rely again upon their 
own efforts, though the time was soon to come when the 
French would really be of great assistance to them. 

In South Carolina the bitter struggle we have described 
was still to continue, though a new aspect was to be given 
affairs by the coming of General Nathanael Greene. Like 
others of the leaders, Greene had been so angered by the 
petty attacks of some of his enemies in Congress that he 
had decided to give up his place ; but Washington, who 
well knew the true worth of his friend, appealing to his 



334 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

honour and friendship, induced him to accept the command 
in the South in place of Gates, and on the 2d of Decem- 
ber, 1780, Greene arrived at Charlotte and at once took 
the position. Baron Steuben, who had come with him, 
was left in Virginia, where Arnold, with 1600 bitter New 
York Tories, had been sent to inflict all the damage in his 
power ; and as Arnold was intensely bitter himself now 
against his former friends, the amount of "damage" he 
did must have satisfied even the most intense of the 
Tories or redcoats. 

Two of the men who came with Greene by the direction 
of Washington were Henry Lee (Light-Horse Harry), the 
dashing cavalry leader, and Kosciusko, the able engineer 
who was soon to prove so valuable an aid to the resolute 
leader. General Leslie, with 3000 of the choicest of the 
British troops, had been in Virginia burning and plunder- 
ing by Clinton's orders, and as soon as he started for the 
quarters of Cornwallis, Benedict Arnold had taken his 
place ; and with Leslie's coming and the arrival of other 
reinforcements Cornwallis found himself in command of 
an army of 11,300 well-drilled and well-equipped men. 

When Greene took the field he had only 2300 men, and 
of these some 1200 were raw and inexperienced militia. 
Whatever success was won was due to the ability of the 
generals and the unconquered spirit of the men in the 
apparently insignificant little force. And the very first 
thing Greene did was to divide his little army, already too 
small to face the force of Cornwallis. 

But Greene understood what he was doing, and soon the 
country did as well. He sent Morgan, with a detachment 
numbering about 500, to watch the British at Camden 
and to obtain such provisions as he could secure for the 



GREENE'S WORK IN THE SOUTH 335 

army. Francis Marion was told to bestir himself at the 
same time in the lower part of South Carolina, and then 
General Greene with his troops left Charlotte and marched 
to the Pedee River, and the war was on. 

Late in December, 1780, Morgan had sent Colonel 
William Washington, a dashing cavalry leader and a dis- 
tant cousin of the great commander, with his dragoons 
and 200 militia toward Ninety-Six, where a force of ad- 
vancing Tories was surprised, 40 prisoners secured, a 
large number of horses taken, and 150 of the enemy left 
killed or wounded. 

Cornwallis, after the arrival of Leslie and his men, had 
decided to advance into North Carolina and "subdue" 
that state also ; but the work of Morgan's men made him 
afraid to leave that daring force behind him, so he soon 
decided that Morgan must be beaten and the people 
restrained by his defeat. Tarleton was the man he 
wanted for this purpose, and so that bold and brutal 
leader, with 1100 picked men, was sent against him. 

As soon as Morgan heard of Tarleton's swift approach 
(for whatever his faults may have been Tarleton was a 
man of great energy), aware that he was outnumbered 
almost two to one, and that he was in no condition to 
meet his enemy, he began a quick retreat. But quick as 
he was, Tarleton was quicker ; for he hardly allowed his 
men to sleep, so eager was he to push forward, and soon 
Morgan found that he could not get away. He could 
fight if he must, however, and fight he did. He drew up 
his men on a field near the border of the two states 
known as the Cowpens, and placing Colonel Washington 
and his riders as a rear-guard, he stationed the regulars 
in the second line and placed the untried militia in front, 



336 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

so that if they should be driven back, as seemed probable, 
they might perhaps make a stand if they should find them- 
selves well supported. 

Tarleton led his troops into battle as soon as he saw 
what Morgan had done. The militia did not fire until the 
redcoats were within fifty yards, and then fell back before 
the rush of the British. Confidently believing the Ameri- 
cans were retreating, the redcoats dashed forward. For 
a time they seemed to gain, but suddenly the militia 
rallied and with the regulars made a charge upon the 
enemy, at the same time when Colonel Washington led 
his little band of riders against them. Surprised and 
startled, the redcoats gave way, and " Tarleton's legion " 
was also making most excellent time as they strove to 
leave the field. Many of the infantry were captured, and 
so sharply did Colonel Washington pursue Tarleton that 
he himself gave that hated officer a sharp sword-cut on the 
hand. But the most of the "legion" escaped to tell Corn- 
wallis of the battle of the Cowpens (January 17th, 1781), 
where the Americans killed no of their enemy, wounded 
229, secured more than 500 prisoners, 800 stand of arms, 
100 dragoon horses, 35 baggage wagons, and 2 standards. 
What rejoiced them as much as anything, however, was 
the retaking of the two cannon which Burgoyne had given 
up at Saratoga and Cornwallis had recaptured at Camden. 
The loss of the Americans was only 12 killed and 60 
wounded. 

Morgan, delighted and perhaps surprised by his victory, 
at once sent the prisoners with the militia toward Virginia, 
and then followed with the rest of his men ; but Cornwallis, 
angry and determined, was speedily on his track, and then 
such a chase followed as has seldom been heard of. Eleven 



GREENE'S WORK IN THE SOUTH 337 

days after the battle of the Cowpens, Morgan's men had 
just crossed the Catawba when Cornwallis appeared on the 
opposite bank. A hard rain kept the British general from 
crossing, and for two days he waited for the swollen stream 
to subside, but by that time the prisoners were too far 
away to be followed. 

Morgan had called out all the Whigs of the region to his 
aid, and was preparing to fight the British should they try 
to cross the river ; but on the last day of January General 
Greene himself suddenly appeared in camp, having ridden 
150 miles to lead Morgan's men to join the rest of the 
army. 

When Greene tried to prevent the British from cross- 
ing, the militia failed him, and the redcoats were soon on 
his side of the river and in swift pursuit, for the armies 
were so near that the van of one and the rear of the 
other were often in sight of each other. The wily 
Greene, almost as great a "fox" as Washington, led his 
force across the Yadkin, and again when the British tried 
to cross, the rain descended and the floods came, and they 
were compelled to march far up the river to a ford. It is 
no wonder that the Whigs of the region were cheered 
and declared that Providence had held back the redcoats. 

Greene kept on his way and at Guilford Courthouse 
joined his army. Cornwallis was now desperately in 
earnest. He had failed to scatter Morgan's men, but 
he hoped to cut off Greene before he could get back into 
Virginia, and at the same time cut off the reinforcements 
that it was understood were marching to aid Greene. The 
American general, as his force was so much smaller than 
that of the enemy, did not desire a battle ; but he did wish 
to keep Cornwallis back if possible, so he ordered seven 



338 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

hundred men, among whom were Light-Horse Harry Lee 
and Colonel William Washington, to bother the British. 
And "bother" them they did, and so successfully that 
when at last with his usual good fortune Greene arrived on 
the bank of the Dan, he succeeded in securing all the 
boats there, and crossed the river once more just as the 
van of Cornwallis's men appeared. The river was too deep 
to be forded, there were no boats to be had, and the position 
held by Greene was strong, so Cornwallis marched on to 
Hillsborough. The retreat of the Americans had been for 
more than two hundred miles, and forty miles had been 
covered in the last day. What the armies suffered no one 
can portray. 

At Hillsborough, Cornwallis tried to get the Tories to 
join his forces, but the Tories were not quite so much 
in evidence as formerly they had been. However, several 
companies were formed and marched toward the camp of 
the British. Tarleton was to meet them on their way, but 
Light-Horse Harry Lee and Pickens with some of their 
followers had learned of the movement, and within a mile 
of Tarleton's force, at a place known as Bloody Pond, they 
fell upon the Tories, the most of whom were Scotchmen, 
and many were killed or taken. Some of those who 
escaped were met by Tarleton's legion, who had heard the 
firing, and mistaken by them for Continentals were again 
fired upon by their own friends. No wonder is it that that 
Tory force came to be spoken of as "the lost regiment." 

Late in February Greene crossed back over the Dan, 
and for three weeks devoted his time and efforts to cut- 
ting off the supplies of Cornwallis, and to avoiding an 
open battle, and in both efforts he was very successful. 
At length, about the middle of March, Greene having been 



GREENE'S WORK IN THE SOUTH 339 

reenforced by the coming of militia until he had about 
4200 men, took a position at Guilford Courthouse, where 
the ever ready Cornwallis met him with a veteran force of 
2400. The engagement was fierce, and for a time the raw 
American militia did nobly, but after an hour and a half, 
when the redcoats seemed to be cutting off the possibility 
of a retreat, Greene ordered his men to leave the field, 
where 400 of their comrades had fallen and more than 600 
of the British were killed, wounded, or missing. Cornwallis 
claimed a complete victory in this battle of Guilford Court- 
house, March 15th, 178 1, and soon issued one of his fa- 
vourite proclamations, in which he offered to pardon all 
the " rebels " who would return, and called upon all loyal 
subjects of King George to assist in restoring good gov- 
ernment. If the British did win, it was a peculiar and 
costly victory, for within a few days Cornwallis departed 
from the region, leaving nearly 80 of his wounded soldiers 
and officers behind him. 

Greene had thought Cornwallis would fight again, but 
as soon as he learned that the British were departing he 
changed his plan and began to follow them, which must 
have seemed like a very great relief to him ; but Greene 
stopped when his army came to Deep River, though 
Cornwallis kept on until he arrived at Petersburg, Virginia. 

Quickly changing his plan and course General Greene 
rested his army, let many of the militia go home, and then 
on the 5th of April started on a swift return toward Cam- 
den (South Carolina), where Colonel (Lord) Rawdon was 
in command of the British force which had been left there. 
Francis Marion, Pickens, Lee, and various other leaders 
with their quick-moving bands were sent into different 
parts of the state to cut off supplies for the British, to 



340 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

attack the numerous small posts they had established, and 
in general strive to keep the redcoats scattered and to 
inflict all the damage on their enemies it was within their 
power to do. By the 24th of April Greene had led his 
army to a place within a mile of Camden ; but, as he was 
not strong enough to attack Colonel Rawdon, who was in 
command of the British there, the American general tried 
to get Rawdon to come forth and give him battle. Ready 
for the fight, the redcoats started forth, and on the morn- 
ing of April 25th, 178 1, began to attack Greene's little army, 
which had been posted with great care on Hobkirk's Hill. 
At first the advantage seemed to be very decidedly with 
the Americans, and Colonel Washington had secured about 
two hundred prisoners ; but then for some unaccountable 
reason two of Greene's companies began to give way, and 
soon, in spite of all that the leaders could do, the entire 
army was retreating, and the British had won the victory. 
The Americans were moving back in fairly good order, 
however, and had a few prisoners along with their ammu- 
nition and stores, but the redcoats kept following until 
about four o'clock in the afternoon, when Colonel Wash- 
ington with his horsemen charged upon the British cav- 
alry, and by scattering them put an end to the fight of the 
day. Each army had lost about 250 men, and though the 
redcoats had won, they were in no condition to follow up 
their victory. However, when a few days had passed and 
Rawdon had been reenforced, he tried to surprise Greene 
by attacking his camp at night ; but when he came close 
to it, he thought better of his purpose and his army went 
back to Camden, where it remained until the 10th of May, 
when Rawdon set fire to the town and departed south of 
the Santee. 



GREENE'S WORK IN THE SOUTH 34 1 

The scattered bands of the Americans were now doing 
just the work that had been expected of them, and post 
after post fell before their attacks. In this way Orange- 
burgh, Fort Motte, Nelson's Ferry, Fort Granby, Silver 
Springs, and other little garrisons were taken, and though 
the victories in themselves were not important, they helped 
to keep up the courage of the Whigs and also kept the 
Tories and redcoats in a constant state of alarm, as they 
did not know where next these hidden foes might ap- 
pear. Augusta, or Fort Cornwallis, as the place was 
then called, fell before the united attacks of Lee and 
Pickens, and Francis Marion compelled the redcoats to 
abandon Georgetown. 

General Greene with his little army laid siege to Ninety- 
Six, where Colonel Cruger was in command of the five 
hundred British soldiers holding that fort. Aided by 
Kosciusko, they erected batteries and dug mines till they 
were within six feet of the walls of the fort, and were con- 
fident that the long siege would speedily be ended ; but 
just then word was received that Rawdon with strong 
reinforcements was coming to the aid of the sadly beset 
garrison at Ninety-Six, and Greene knew that he must either 
assault the fort at once or leave the region, for he had too 
few men to hope to stand before the oncoming British. 
An assault was therefore determined upon, but though the 
patriots fought desperately, the attempt failed, and Greene 
began another of his famous retreats that seemed to injure 
the British more than their successes in the field could do 
them good. 

Rawdon was close by when Greene's men started from 
Ninety-Six and turned to pursue them as far as the Enoree; 
then, believing that his foe had left South Carolina, he 



342 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

divided his force and left a part at the Congaree. Just as 
soon as Rawdon did this Greene instantly changed his 
own plans and advanced. The first information that Raw- 
don had of the whereabouts of his "defeated" foe was the 
news that within a mile of his camp Lee had cut off a 
foraging party and with forty captive horsemen had suc- 
ceeded in rejoining his leader. This was almost too much, 
and Rawdon straightway marched his men to Orange- 
burgh. Greene, however, was close upon him, and on the 
1 2th of July tried to draw him into battle, but Rawdon 
declined and instantly sent word to Ninety-Six for Cruger 
to come to his aid. 

General Greene tried to prevent the approach of Cru- 
ger's soldiers, but failed, and then after crossing the 
Wateree and Congaree collected his entire force of two 
thousand men, and instead of continuing a retreat resolved 
to attack. The British moved back and took a position 
about forty miles from Charleston near Eutaw Springs. 
Greene was in no condition at the time to take advantage 
of his enemy's backward movement ; but after Francis 
Marion had joined him with his hardy men, it was de- 
cided to attack the British on the following day, Septem- 
ber 8th, 1 78 1. 

The American forces were very skilfully arranged by 
their able leaders, and when they were on the march they 
drove before them the British, who had come forth from 
their camp. The fight soon became general. Though the 
British at first had been driven back, they made a stand 
near a large three-story brick house, and though the 
Americans fought desperately, they could not dislodge 
their foe. Hand to hand, with guns clubbed, the soldiers 
had fought, but the stubbornness of each side was as great 



JP§I 





PAUL JONES CAPTURING THE SERAPH 
(From a painting by Chappel) 



GREENE'S WORK IN THE SOUTH 343 

as that of the other, and at last, unable to drive the red- 
coats, the Americans withdrew to the nearest place where 
water could be had, and the British declared that the 
battle was theirs. In one sense this was true, for they had 
not been driven from the field, but in killed, wounded, and 
prisoners they had lost more than eleven hundred men, 
while the loss of the Americans was only about half that 
number. At all events, on the following day the redcoats 
hastened back to Charleston, and their anger was shared 
by all their Tory sympathizers. Indeed, the hatred of the 
Tories and Whigs was now fearfully intense, and many 
were the evil deeds they inflicted upon one another. 

One of the most celebrated of these deeds was the hang- 
ing of Colonel Isaac Hayne, a man respected by all the 
people of the state. He had been made a prisoner by the 
British at the siege of Charleston (he was then serving as 
a private in the ranks), and they had permitted him to 
return to his home on parole on the condition that he 
should not again take up arms. In this year (1781), how- 
ever, he had been told that he must enter the British ser- 
vice or go to Charleston. He did the latter, and was then 
informed that unless he would declare his allegiance to 
King George and take up arms for him he would be cast 
into prison. There was severe illness in his home, and 
upon being informed that he would not be compelled to 
serve in the king's army he agreed to the proposition, 
and then hastened to his home. 

Soon, however, he received word that he must enter the 
king's army. He thought if the British had broken their 
promise he was not compelled to keep his, so he entered 
the army of the patriots instead, was soon taken prisoner, 
placed in irons, given a mock trial and condemned to be 



344 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

hanged. His friends, his little children, the ladies of 
Charleston, all begged that his life might be spared, but 
in vain. Remarking calmly, " I set out for immortality," 
he was led to his death August ioth, 1781, by his brutal 
captors. His murder only served to increase the rage of 
the people, and throughout the state such deeds followed 
his execution as cannot even be described. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

STORIES OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTH 

Although apparently defeated in almost every battle, 
General Greene had, by his constant efforts, so weakened 
the British that practically he was now in control of 
almost all of South Carolina and Georgia except Charles- 
ton and Savannah, and there he kept the redcoats " bottled 
up " until the end of the war. The character of the 
struggle, the loyalty and sufferings of the people during 
this time, may perhaps best be understood by relating 
certain incidents recorded by some of the earlier writers. 

In Johnston's "Traditions and Reminiscences of the 
American Revolution," the well-known story of Marion's 
invitation to a British officer to dine with him and then 
offering to his guest some roasted sweet potatoes, is thus 
told by one who heard it soon after the occurrence. " The 
young Englishman had first been invited by Marion's aides 
to dine with them and had accepted the invitation ; but 
being also invited by the general, he requested an excuse 
from the aides, among whom he would probably have fared 
better. The general with his usual tact had perceived 
that the young man was sensitive and concluded to try 
him by a ruse. The potatoes were served up as repre- 
sented by all [those who have told the story], but when 
the general had peeled his potatoes he did not throw away 
the skins as others usually do, but left them on one side 

345 



346 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

of his plate. Tley had been roasted and brought on by 
Oscar, his foster-brother, who was therefore from infancy 
always called ' Budde ' (brother) by the general when he 
spoke to him. 

" After dinner the general said, ' Budde, bring us some- 
thing to drink,' and Oscar brought a gourd full of water, of 
which the officer was first invited to drink ; the general 
then drank heartily from the same gourd. He then called 
Oscar to bring up his horse Roger, and Roger was led up 
to his master, who handed to him the potato skins, all of 
which were eaten by the horse from his master's hand — 
not one of them was lost. 

" The young officer, whose name I do not recollect to 
have heard, returned on the completion of his mission 
deeply impressed by the scene he had witnessed. He 
afterward resigned his commission with a determination 
never again to draw his sword against men who so bravely 
and conscientiously opposed his king and government — 
suffering privations and wants of every kind ; without pay, 
clothing, forage, arms or ammunition ; compelled to reside 
in sickly swamps without tents to shelter them ; with 
nothing to drink but water, nothing to eat but roots, and 
feeding their horses on the skins — the refuse of this 
homely and scanty fare. 

" After this adventure, General Marion obtained a very 
fine blooded horse by defeating a party of Tories com- 
manded by Captain John Ball. This fine animal was called 
Ball thenceforward, after his late owner. 

"At one time, when the British were in possession of 
Georgetown (South Carolina), the immediate vicinity was 
kept in a constant state of alarm by Swamp Fox, the name 
by which the Tories called the hated Marion. On one 



STORIES OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTH 347 

occasion, one of Marion's men left some provisions with 
a woman and her daughter who were known to be friends 
of the ' rebel ' cause. Immediately after the departure of 
Marion's man, a party of British stopped at the house, 
made a search, and discovered the hidden supplies. They 
charged upon the mother the fact of their being designed 
for the rebel army. She prevaricated, and the officer in 
command insisted that she should have them hauled to the 
river and shipped to Charleston. The old lady said she 
would have them hauled as directed, but could not be 
responsible for them after they left her premises ; that 
some of Marion's men were constantly scouting about 
there, and would watch and seize them as soon as they 
should be removed. Taking advantage of this hint, the 
British scouts resolved to carry off with them all that they 
could bear away, and ordered her to have the remainder 
shipped immediately. With this intent they proceeded 
to examine the supplies. The daughter watched them, 
determined, if possible, to defeat their object. Retiring 
from the house a few minutes, she hastily returned and, 
in apparent alarm and agitation, exclaimed, 'Marion and 
his men are coming ! ' The British beat a hasty retreat, 
and before nightfall the provisions were removed by a 
patriotic band to a place of greater security. 

" Marion always enjoined upon his men, whenever they 
fell in with the enemy or heard of them, that they should 
obtain all possible information of their numbers, position, 
object, and destination. On one occasion one of his men 
(named Ravenel), when absent from the camp, met a con- 
siderable British detachment, from which he escaped with 
difficulty, but had no time to observe their numbers or 
description. It was his duty to report, but what was he to 



348 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

say ? He had escaped into the woods, but now determined 
that he would return toward their track, ascertain their 
strength, and follow them to their encampment. He ac- 
cordingly rode through the woods until he reached the 
head of their line ; then climbed into a tree, counted their 
numbers accurately as they marched past him, and when 
they encamped, he passed on and reported to his general." 

Among the most active and daring of Marion's men 
were Robert Simons and William Withers, two young men 
equally inconsiderate. They had been sent together on 
some confidential expedition, and while resting at noon 
for refreshment, Withers, a practised shot, was examining 
the pistols to see if they were in prime condition for any 
emergency, while Simons sat near him, absorbed in thought. 

" Bob," said Withers, " if you had not that bridge on 
your nose, you would be a likely young fellow." 

" Do you think so ? " said Simons. 

Withers, for want of something else to do, was pointing 
his pistol at different objects to steady his hand and prac- 
tise the grasp, weight, and level of his favourite weapon. 
At last, as Simons sat sideways to him, he was again at- 
tracted by the prominent bridge of his nose. 

" Bob," said Withers, " I think I can shoot off that ugly 
bump on your nose." 

"Ah," said Simons. 

" Shall I shoot ? " 

" Shoot ! " and crack went the pistol. 

The ball could not have been better aimed. It struck 
the projecting bridge and demolished it forever — all of 
which shows that Marion's men were not only bold and 
reckless, but at times foolhardy as well. 

One of the deeds of the South Carolina " boors," as the 



STORIES OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTH 349 

redcoats termed the farmer soldiers, was that of one of 
the men with Lieutenant Slocumb, who was under the 
command of Colonel William Washington. He, with 
twelve others as bold as he, had been sent as scouts near 
the camp of Cornwallis. The lieutenant, when they came 
near the British camp, sent a man named McKenne to spy 
out the land. McKenne, on reaching the vicinity of Lord 
Cornwallis's post, concealed his horse in a thicket and ad- 
vanced under cover of the wood to the skirts of the planta- 
tion. There he saw a square mile covered with the tents, 
baggage, and artillery of the best-equipped and disciplined 
army which had ever visited America. 

The sight was one to impress the rude soldier, but as he 
looked he saw an officer come within range of his rifle. 
Without a thought of his own peril, the daring man raised his 
gun and fired, and the scarlet-clad officer fell to the ground. 
Instantly quitting his place of concealment, McKenne ran 
for his horse, leapt upon his back, but had hardly started 
before he was aware that the British troopers were in swift 
pursuit. In the mad race across the sand-hills, McKenne 
held his own for a mile and a half, when the foremost of 
his pursuers fired at him but missed. A second shot, how- 
ever, brought his horse to the ground ; and before the sol- 
dier could recover from his fall, two of the troopers dashed 
past him, each giving him a sword-cut as he went. The 
third came up more leisurely, and passed his sword through 
his body near the shoulder, and was about to give the final 
coup de grace, when his own sword-arm was almost severed, 
and he rolled on the ground near his enemy. The second 
dragoon now returning, fell with his head and helmet cleft, 
and the third at once surrendered to those who had come 
to McKenne's aid. The half-dead " boor " was carried to 



350 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

camp, where his wounds were dressed, and he afterward 
recovered. 

At this very time Lieutenant Slocumb's home had been 
invaded by Tarleton. He, with his legion, encamped on 
the plantation, and the leader had many a conversation 
with Mistress Slocumb, who was intense in her patriotism. 
At the word of Tarleton she prepared a dinner for him 
and for some of his officers, but while they were eating, 
the sound of guns in the distance was heard, and the 
leader of the redcoats demanded of Mrs. Slocumb whether 
any part of Washington's army was in the vicinity or not. 

"I presume," replied the lady, "that it is known to you 
that the Marquis and Greene are in this state, and you 
would not be surprised at a call from Lee or your old 
friend, Colonel Washington, who, although a perfect gen- 
tleman, it is said shook your hand (pointing to the scar left 
by Washington's sabre) very rudely when you last met." 

The angry Tarleton ordered his troop to form, and com- 
mands were issued for the Tories to patrol the neighbour- 
hood. As soon as the intrepid woman heard this order, 
fearful for the safety of her husband, whom she knew to 
be near, she sent an old negro slave, ostensibly to a neigh- 
bouring mill for meal, but really to warn her husband of his 
peril. The negro, delighted with the redcoats, lingered 
among the tents on the lawn, and when he turned to his 
duty was horrified to behold young Lieutenant Slocumb 
and a few friends entering the place, all unaware of the 
presence of Tarleton's legion. A cry from the slave 
warned them of their danger, but it was too late to turn 
back, for already their retreat was cut off ; so straight ahead 
they dashed through the garden, leaping the canal and into 
the woods beyond, followed by the shots and cries of the 



STORIES OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTH 35 1 

baffled redcoats. When the lieutenant at last approached 
his hiding-place, he was horrified to discover a man hanging 
by the neck from a halter attached to the overhanging branch 
of a tree. Instantly cutting him down, he found him tc 
be a Tory prisoner recently taken. So the cruelty was not 
confined to one side only. Lieutenant Slocumb with two 
hundred neighbours followed the retiring redcoats and har- 
assed them until they crossed the Roanoke. Perhaps this 
instance affords as good an insight into the character of 
the war as any could do. 

In the year 1777-78 Charleston was blockaded by vari- 
ous British cruisers. At one time three of these were 
particularly troublesome. There was but one armed 
(American) vessel in port, and she was not more than a 
match for any one of the three British vessels. Alexander 
Gillon volunteered to go out against the three with this 
single vessel if the governor would sanction his attempt and 
supply him with a suitable number of marines in addition 
to the crew of the vessel. The proposal was accepted, and 
the marines were drafted from the regulars in the service 
of the state. 

Gillon disguised his vessel by means of tarpaulins and 
a change of rigging to look like a merchantman. He went 
to sea while the enemy were in sight, though they were at 
some distance from him and were somewhat scattered. In 
his assumed character Gillon pretended to run away from 
the British cruisers, and concealed all his men under the 
windward railings. One of the enemy pursued him and thus 
was placed at a still greater distance from his comrades. 
When he came up with Gillon's vessel, he ran alongside 
with the greatest confidence. Gillon then threw his grap- 
pling irons on board and at the head of his marines boarded 



352 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

the British vessel, and captured her with very little loss 
on either side. Gillon then divided his prisoners between 
the two vessels and secured them under the hatches. He 
also divided his officers and men between the two, and con- 
sidered himself a match for the two remaining blockaders, 
and felt able and willing to fight them if fighting should be 
necessary ; still he proceeded in disguise. He kept the 
British flag flying on his prize and reversed the American 
on his own vessel, over which he hoisted a British flag to 
indicate that his had been captured and not the other. 
The two then made easy sail toward the British vessels. 
On coming up with the first, he ran alongside in her com- 
rade which had just been captured, and surprised her by 
boarding without firing a gun. The third blockader, seeing 
no fight and hearing no firing, suffered herself to be sur- 
rounded, before she could suppose they were her enemy's 
vessels ; but when their flags were, at a given signal, dis- 
played in form, she found that escape was impossible and 
resistance useless ; she therefore surrendered, and Gillon 
returned into Charleston in triumph with his prizes. 

The people dwelling upon a large plantation on the 
Catawba were startled one morning by the report brought 
by a country lad that a detachment of British light-horse 
with a long train of empty baggage wagons was coming 
to seize provisions for Cornwallis. The women and chil- 
dren were quickly sent to the neighbours', while the men 
armed themselves and had hardly time in which to con- 
ceal themselves before the redcoats appeared. The British 
finding the plantation apparently deserted at once began 
to plunder and load their wagons. Twelve of the hardy 
Whigs by this time were assembled, and, stationed by twos 
on the borders of the place, were angrily watching the red- 



STORIES OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTH 353 

coats and waiting for them to retire. In the doorway of 
the house, with a hand resting on each side of the casing, 
stood the leader laughingly watching the men as they 
plundered the place. Some of them had upset the bee- 
hives, and the angry little insects were driving men and 
horses all about the lane in confusion. The sight seemed 
to delight the leader, and he was laughing uproariously, as 
indeed were his followers, whose attention had also been 
drawn to the antics of their comrades. 

" Boys, I can't stand this," said one of the watching 
farmers in a low voice. " I take the captain. Every one 
choose his man and look to yourselves." 

The sharp reports of the rifles rang out ; the captain, 
nine of his men, and four of his horses fell dead or 
wounded. The bugle immediately sounded a recall, but 
by the time the dragoons had formed, a straggling fire 
from another place to which the farmers had run was 
heard. The swamps, thickets, and woods along the road 
to Charlotte seemed to the redcoats to be filled with their 
concealed enemies, and at last their hounds were let loose 
in pursuit. Followed by the redcoats the dogs took the 
trail, but one of the hounds was killed as he tried to seize 
one of the men, and his companions, stopping to sniff at 
the body of their dead comrade, howled and refused to go 
on with the chase. 

By this time many of the neighbours had come to the aid 
of the few patriots. Some more of the dragoons were 
shot, horses were killed, and a scene of indescribable con- 
fusion was on every side. At last the foragers, cutting 
loose many of the horses of the baggage wagons, made 
their way back to camp ; but the survivors declared " there 
was not a bush on the road that did not conceal a rebel." 



354 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

The family of Martins in Edgefield was remarkably con- 
spicuous in the war. There were seven brothers in this 
family, and all took an active part, and all survived save 
one, who fell at the siege of Augusta. The women of the 
family were as brave and daring as the men. Understand- 
ing that important despatches were to be sent up the 
country near them, the wives of William and Bartly 
Martin dressed themselves in their husbands' clothes, took 
their muskets, and compelled the courier when he appeared 
to surrender his letters, which they at once sent on to 
General Greene, who at the time was retreating from 
Ninety-Six. 

From the many incidents recorded by Garden in his 
"Anecdotes of the War," the following selections will 
serve to illustrate the character of the struggle and the 
hardihood and bravery of the men and women. 

In a pocket-book of Sumter was found an accurate list 
of the houses he had burned and also a list of those he 
intended to destroy. Cornwallis, writing at this time to 
Tarleton, declared, " I shall be glad to hear that Sumter is 
in no condition to give us further trouble — he certainly 
has been our greatest plague in this country." 

In a letter dated August 14th, 1780, Baron de Kalb 
writes to the Chevalier de la Luzerne: "You may judge 
of the virtues of our small army from the following fact : 
we have for several days lived upon nothing but peaches, 
and I have heard no complaint. There has been no 
desertion." 

Strict orders were given the soldiers against pillaging. 
On one occasion a soldier of the line was found with a 
turkey gobbler in his possession, and when he was asked 
as to the manner in which he had obtained it, said, " In his 



STORIES OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTH 355 

gobbling this saucy bird so often called me ' Tory ! Tory I 
Tory ! ' that I killed him to prevent further insult." 

"But," said the inquiring officer, "you have a hen 
turkey also. She does not gobble — why was she 
brought ? " 

" Oh, an' please your honour, as an evidence. She heard 
the insult, and if she had not been smothered by her close 
confinement, might have told how much I bore before I 
could persuade myself to do the rascal an injury." 

The soldier kept his prizes. 

At the battle of Eutavv, when Marion's brigade was 
deploying in face of the enemy, Captain Gee, who com- 
manded the front platoon, was shot down and supposed 
to be mortally wounded. The ball passed through the 
cock of the handsome hat he had recently procured, tear- 
ing the crown very much, and in its progress his head 
also. He lay for a considerable time insensible ; the 
greater part of the day had passed without a favourable 
symptom ; when, suddenly reviving, his first inquiry was 
after his beaver. When this was brought him by a friend, 
at the same time lamenting the condition of his head, the 
captain exclaimed : " Oh, never think of the head ; time 
and the doctor will put that to rights. But it grieves me 
to think that the rascals have ruined my hat forever ! " 

When Colonel Lee informed Mrs. Jacob Motte that her 
beautiful home must be burned in order to compel the 
British garrison there to surrender, she instantly replied, 
"The sacrifice of my property is nothing, and I shall view 
its destruction with delight if it shall in any way contribute 
to the good of my country." When the British had seized 
the place, they at first had permitted Mrs. Motte and her 
family to remain ; but when the patriotic band of Lee 



356 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

approached, they told her that she and her people must 
leave the place. Departing, they had taken with them a 
quiver filled with arrows, the former present of a slave. 
When Colonel Lee was seeking for means by which to set 
the house on fire and compel Major M'Pherson, the com- 
mander of the British, to surrender, Mrs. Motte herself 
brought forth this quiver. A burning arrow was soon 
fired upon the roof, which, as it blazed up at the same time 
when the six-pounders of Lee spoke, compelled the red- 
coats to surrender. So little Fort Motte fell into the hands 
of the patriots. 

At the battle of Eutaw, after the British line had broken, 
and the Old Buffs (British), a regiment that had boasted 
of the extraordinary feats they were to perform, were run- 
ning from the field, young Lieutenant Manning in the 
enthusiasm of the moment sprang forward in pursuit, 
directing the platoon which he commanded to follow him. 
He did not cast an eye behind him until he found himself 
near a large brick house into which the York volunteers com- 
manded by Cruger were retiring. The British were on all 
sides of him and not an American soldier nearer than 150 or 
200 yards. Lieutenant Manning did not hesitate an instant, 
but springing at an officer who was near him seized him by 
the collar and exclaimed, " You are my prisoner ! " At the 
same time he wrested the officer's sword from his grasp and 
dragged the man from the house, all the time keeping his 
prisoner in front of him and so protecting himself from 
the heavy fire from the windows as he slowly moved back- 
ward to join his fellows. Lieutenant Manning afterward 
frequently related how that his huge prisoner at the very 
moment when his captor naturally expected him to make a 
break for liberty, with great solemnity had said, " I am Sir 



STORIES OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTH 357 

Henry Barry, Deputy Adjutant General of the British 
army, captain in the 5 2d regiment, secretary of the com- 
mandant at Charleston." 

" Enough, enough, sir," said the lieutenant. " You are 
just the very man I was looking for ! Fear nothing for 
your life, for you shall screen me from danger, and I will 
take special care of you /" The incident has greater force 
when it is known that the young lieutenant was a small, 
slight man who made up by his courage for what he lacked 
in stature. 

From " Domestic History of the American Revolution " 
and various other reliable sources the following instances 
of the zeal and courage of the patriotic women are taken. 

About two hundred men commanded by Colonel Clarke, 
hearing that a large body of Tories were seizing horses for 
Ferguson, determined to rout them. On their way they 
stopped for refreshment at the house of Captain Dillard, 
who was with them, and after having been fed on milk and 
potatoes resumed their march, and at nightfall went into 
camp at Green Spring. That very evening Ferguson and 
a party of his men stopped at Dillard's and made inquiries 
concerning Clarke and his band. Upon being informed 
that they "had been gone a long time," they ordered Mrs. 
Dillard to prepare supper for them. As she passed back 
and forth from the kitchen she heard enough of their con- 
versation to make it clear that they knew where Clarke's 
men were, and were planning to surprise them. She 
hastened her preparations for the supper, and as soon as 
the officers seated themselves at the table, she slipped out 
of the house, went to the stable, bridled a young horse, and 
started swiftly for Green Spring. All night long she rode, 
and about half an hour before daylight approached the 



358 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

spot and was seen by the vedettes, who conducted her at 
once to Colonel Clarke, and her story was told. Her word 
came just in time, for hardly were the patriots under arms 
before the Tories were upon them ; but the salute of the 
guns was more than a surprise, for in a brief time the 
attacking party had been driven off and scattered. 
The "liberty men" were bold, but the women were no 
less bold. 

Emily Geiger was a young girl who also made a desper- 
ate and successful ride for the cause she loved. When 
Greene was retreating from Ninety-Six, he was very desir- 
ous of getting word to Sumter, but the intervening region 
was filled with Tories, and it was almost impossible to find 
a man to undertake the perilous ride. Emily, however, 
volunteered and Greene accepted her offer; and after receiv- 
ing from him a letter, and also verbal instructions for 
Sumter, the young girl rode forth from the camp. On the 
first day she was not molested, but on the second she was 
seized and a woman was ordered to search her. Before 
the Tory matron came, Emily tore the letter into bits and 
swallowed them. As nothing suspicious was found upon 
her person she was permitted to resume her journey, and 
after a long and circuitous ride she arrived at Sumter's 
camp and delivered her message by word of mouth. And 
Sumter soon afterward joined Greene's forces at Orange- 
burgh. It is a satisfaction to know that Emily Geiger 
afterward married a rich planter and dwelt for many years 
on the shore of the Congaree. 

Nancy Hart was another bold woman (she was known 
as the "war woman"), who dwelt near War Woman's 
Creek. Large, red-haired, cross-eyed, she apparently was in 
no fear of the Tories, whom she hated with a perfect hatred. 



STORIES OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTH 359 

Her husband and a few of his neighbours were in hiding in 
the swamp near the house, and a conch shell was used to give 
the signal in case of danger or of the need of the men at the 
house. One day a party of five Tories rode up to Nancy's 
home, and after making inquiries concerning a young rebel, 
whom the war woman boldly declared she had helped 
escape, they dismounted and after killing the one turkey 
left on the place, ordered her to cook it for them. De- 
murring at first, she afterward consented, and she and her 
little daughter waited upon the "visitors," who seated 
themselves at the table. While they were busy at their 
feast, Nancy bade her little girl go down to the spring and 
give the signal with the conch shell that the presence of 
her husband and his neighbours was required at the house. 
Meanwhile as she waited upon her guests she contrived 
to pull out some of the pine chinking between the logs of 
which the house was built, and through the opening thus 
made succeeded in dropping three of the guns which the 
Tories had leaned against the wall while they themselves 
were busy with the turkey and the "jug" which Nancy 
had brought up from the cellar at their command. As the 
bold woman took the fourth gun and tried to drop that also 
out between the logs, her actions were seen and the angry 
Tories started from their seats. Quickly bringing the gun 
to her shoulder, Nancy ordered them not to advance a step 
nearer, and, as has been said, the war woman being not 
only large and strong, but also cross-eyed as well, every 
man held back, as he was positive she was aiming directly 
at him. Even the strong nerves of Nancy Hart could not 
have endured the strain long, but relief came when sud- 
denly the sound of guns was heard, the room was filled 
with smoke, and three of the Tories fell dead as Hart and 



360 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

his neighbours dashed into the place. The remaining two 
Tories were taken out into the yard and hanged from the 
branch of a tall tree. 

What terrible times they were ! The hand of neighbour 
was raised against his neighbour, and with the passing 
days the hatred became more and more intense. No man, 
no house, was safe. But through it all, the women tilled 
the fields, cared for the wounded, ofttimes defended them- 
selves against the Tories and redcoats (not that they were 
always successful), boldly made their way to the British 
pens in which husband, son, or brother was confined ; 
carried word to the scattered bands of Sumter or Marion 
of the doings of the enemy, and in every way kept up the 
courage of those who were striving to protect themselves 
from the invading foes. The history of the war in the 
South is almost like some romance, but the terrible suffer- 
ing and peril of the times doubtless did not seem to be 
very "romantic" to the desperate and struggling people. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

THE BEGINNING OF THE END 

It becomes necessary now for us to turn and follow some 
of the movements of the traitor Benedict Arnold, to whose 
ravages in Virginia reference already has been made. Be- 
fore Arnold and his legion had set sail from New York he 
had been making his quarters in that city in lower Broad- 
way, next to the house occupied by Sir Henry Clinton. 
Well aware that the British had no respect for him after 
his desertion — for no matter how much they might hate 
their enemies they nevertheless had a strong feeling of 
honest admiration for many of the " rebel " leaders, a feel- 
ing they could not have for one who had been a traitor, 
though his treachery had caused him to join their own 
ranks — Arnold knew how he was also despised by his 
former comrades. 

And his feeling was well grounded, for even Washington 
himself, as well as many others, was trying to think of 
some plan by which the traitor might be secured and a 
punishment visited upon him that would serve as a terrible 
warning to others who, it was commonly reported, were 
also preparing to follow the desertion of Arnold. 

While the army was at Tappan (1780) a plan, among 
the many presented and tried for securing possession of 
the traitor, was suggested to, and approved by, Washington 
himself. The general sent for Major Lee, in whom he 

361 



362 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

had unbounded confidence, and after talking over the mat- 
ter it was decided that Lee should select some trusty man 
from his own legion, who, to all appearances, should desert 
and join the redcoats in New York. With letters to two 
friends of Washington, he was to keep in communication 
with the Americans and to form some plan by which 
Arnold was to be secured and sent to his former friends, 
but under no considerations was Arnold himself to be 
killed. 

Lee selected Sergeant-major Champe for the difficult 
and delicate task, and that young officer in spite of his 
patriotism at first naturally rebelled against the apparent 
desertion ; but at last he yielded to the united persuasions 
of his leader and of Washington, and at eleven o'clock on 
the night of October 20th, 1780, with three guineas in his 
pocket, the gift of Lee, and a few personal belongings, 
secretly started on horseback from the camp. He had 
been gone but a few minutes before his desertion was dis- 
covered, and in spite of Lee's efforts to delay his angry 
soldiers, the pursuit was so sharply followed that Champe 
just barely contrived to escape and was received on board 
of one of the British galleys. The captain after listening 
to his story gave him a letter to Sir Henry Clinton, by 
whom he was cordially welcomed, and soon after he was 
assigned to the " American " legion Arnold was then rais- 
ing among Tories and deserters — the very thing Champe 
desired most of all. 

He carefully laid and carried out his plans, and his ar- 
rangements were completed for secretly seizing Arnold 
and bearing him to Hoboken, where Lee and a small party 
were to be in readiness to receive them. Lee's party was 
ready at the appointed place and time, but though they 



THE BEGINNING OF THE END 363 

waited long neither Champe nor Arnold appeared. The 
cause of the failure, not understood until long afterward, 
was due to a sudden change Arnold made in his quarters so 
that he might better look after his troops, which even then 
were embarking for the expedition which the traitor was 
to lead in Virginia. So it came to pass that not only was 
Arnold not captured but Champe himself had to sail with 
him and be one of the army which was to lay waste his own 
land. When Champe at last succeeded in escaping, as he 
did before many weeks had passed, his return to his friends, 
when they understood what he had been trying to do, was 
hailed with delight and the young soldier was covered with 
honours. But as it was known that if he should be made 
a prisoner by the British he would be hanged without mercy, 
he was discharged from the service, though not before his 
great commander had richly rewarded him for his daring. 

Arnold, meanwhile, had landed in Virginia with 1600 
men, and soon marched upon Richmond, where he de- 
stroyed much salt, tobacco, and other valuable stores. 
From Richmond he went to Portsmouth, and making that 
town his headquarters, began to send forth small detach- 
ments in every direction, which destroyed so much public 
and private property and committed so many outrages 
that Washington ordered Lafayette with the 1200 men, 
with whom the Marquis was marching to join the Southern 
army, to stop in Virginia and try to check Arnold's evil 
deeds. There was renewed hope now that the traitor 
might be secured, and Washington wrote Rochambeau 
and Destouches at Newport, urging them to send the 
entire French fleet and 1000 men to help Lafayette. 
But Destouches sent only one ship and two frigates, 
and when they arrived off the Virginia shore they found 



364 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Arnold so strong that they straightway sailed back to 
Newport, though they did manage to capture a fifty-gun 
ship, the Romulus, on their way. 

Washington, however, was not ready to give up his 
hope of taking Arnold, and on March 6th he, with other 
officers, held a conference with Rochambeau and others 
at Newport, the result of which was that it was decided 
to have the entire French fleet convey 1100 of Rocham- 
beau's men to Virginia. But the French admiral delayed, 
and when at last he arrived off Cape Henry, March 16th, 
he found the British admiral, Arbuthnot, there ready to 
give him battle. For an hour the French fought and 
then withdrew, and on the following day started back for 
Newport ! 

A few days afterward General Phillips, with 2000 red- 
coats, came from New York and joined Arnold, and both 
marched to Petersburg, after causing untold suffering in 
the region, where Baron Steuben with his little force 
could not resist them. On May 20th, Cornwallis arrived 
at Petersburg and, as General Philips had died of a fever, 
he took command of the entire body of troops, which had 
also been increased by the coming of 1500 more men from 
New York. 

Lafayette was to oppose this great force ; but his little 
body of troops was composed mostly of New Englanders, 
who did not like the warm weather nor the country in 
which they now found themselves, and began to desert in 
such numbers that the poor young commander (Cornwallis 
always spoke of him as "the boy ") was almost in despair. 
Finally he made an appeal to their patriotism by telling 
them of the full danger of what he was trying to do and 
at the same time urging them to stay and fight with him. 



THE BEGINNING OF THE END 365 

He also raised some money on his own credit in Baltimore 
and purchased some clothing, of which the soldiers were 
in dire need, with the result that only a few more men 
deserted from the ranks. 

Cornwallis soon afterward crossed the Pamunkey River, 
and dividing his forces sent the hated Tarleton with one 
division to capture the Assembly, which at the time was 
in session at Charlotteville. Tarleton, whatever his fail- 
ings may have been, was a man of energy, and he almost 
succeeded in this project, for he captured seven of the 
members of the Assembly and destroyed all the stores the 
Americans had been collecting at that town. The other 
force of redcoats also did great damage, but did not succeed 
in getting possession of the stores at Point of Fork, for 
the patriots, rallying, succeeded in saving a part of them. 

Word had now come to Lafayette that Mad Anthony 
Wayne, with eight hundred men of the Pennsylvania line, 
was on his way to join him, and if ever a man rejoiced, it 
was the Marquis when he heard of the coming of this 
ally. "The boy" had moved his stores from Richmond 
to Albemarle Old Courthouse, and as the redcoats were 
of course not ignorant of what the Americans were doing, 
Cornwallis moved up and took a position between La- 
fayette and his stores. " The boy " followed after the 
redcoats, and was close to them when the place where the 
stores were kept was only a few miles distant. Cornwallis 
was now greatly elated, for he held one of the two roads 
leading to the place and did not believe Lafayette would 
dare to take the other, as it would lead him into trouble. 

But while the British general was chuckling over his 
cleverness, suddenly " the boy " made his way by night 
through a road the British had considered "impassable," 



366 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

and so the redcoats, giving up all thought of trying to 
get the stores, marched back to Richmond. Meanwhile, 
Baron Steuben's men and some of the patriot farmers of 
the region had joined Lafayette, and soon the little 
American army numbered four thousand. 

Cornwallis, thinking the number of his enemies to be 
greater than it really was, was not ready for a fight, and 
he was still further bothered by a demand which had come 
from Clinton in New York for him to send a part of his 
troops back to that city, for he (Clinton) had just discovered 
that the Americans were planning a combined attack upon 
that town. Clinton had learned this, as he had many other 
things, by letters written by Washington and sent by 
messengers whom the American commander took pains 
to have fall into the hands of the redcoats. In this manner 
he kept Clinton in a constant state of alarm, not daring to 
move from the city for fear that the moment he departed, 
" the old fox " would be ready to steal a march upon him 
or attack the town when it was defenceless. At this time, 
however, there is no doubt that Washington was seriously 
thinking of making a movement of some kind against the 
redcoats in New York. 

On the 4th of July Cornwallis with his troops marched 
from Williamsburgh to a ford in the James River (they 
used to call it "James's river"), and a part of his force 
was led across to the opposite shore. In the three days 
that followed, the most of the baggage and supplies were 
carried across, and Lafayette, who now was only nine 
miles away, naturally supposing that the bulk of the 
British army was on the opposite shore and only a small 
rear guard had been left behind, at once made preparations 
to attack it. This was the very thing that Cornwallis had 



THE BEGINNING OF THE END 367 

believed the young Frenchman would do, and he had in 
reality left and arranged the main body of his troops to 
receive this very attack, and the little American army very 
nearly fell into the cleverly contrived trap. 

The British outposts fell back before the attack, which 
was led by Mad Anthony Wayne, just as they had been 
told to do, and the first thing Wayne knew he was facing 
the main body of the British, who, previously concealed by 
the woods, were now advancing to meet him. Wayne did 
not believe he could retreat safely, and so, perhaps remem- 
bering what sheer boldness had won for him at Stony 
Point, he now with his eight hundred men fiercely charged 
upon the approaching enemy. For a while the hottest 
kind of a fight took place, but Lafayette having arrived 
by this time and having discovered the true state of affairs, 
succeeded in helping Mad Anthony and his men withdraw 
with the other troops behind a deep swamp. 

It would have fared badly with the bold Americans if 
Cornwallis had followed up the advantage he thus gained, 
but he was fearful that his enemy was trying to lead him 
into the same kind of a trap he himself had been pre- 
paring for them, and so he took his entire army in the 
night across the river, and soon afterward marched to 
Portsmouth. There he had the troops which he had been 
ordered to send to Clinton in New York embark, but just 
before they were ready to set sail he received another 
message from Clinton, instructing him to hold all his men 
and to select some safe post where he could act with the 
fleet which was soon to be sent to his aid. Clinton also 
explained that now he was afraid of neither Washington 
nor Rochambeau. 

At first Cornwallis thought of taking his army to Old 



368 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Point Comfort, but finally decided upon Yorktown, on the 
York River, and accordingly marched to that place, where, 
as soon as the army arrived, it began to fortify the camp. 
Cornwallis had received word that the British fleet in the 
West Indies was coming to his aid, and so all he planned 
to do was to keep off the little American army that was 
near and wait for the coming of his allies. As soon as 
these should come he would be in a condition to make 
Virginia suffer as South Carolina already had suffered, 
and, confident of the outcome, the British general fondly 
believed that all he had to do was to exercise patience, and 
the entire South would soon be at his feet. 

It must have been a shock when the French Count de 
Grasse with a fleet of twenty-eight sail suddenly appeared 
in the Chesapeake August 30th, and word was soon received 
that the combined armies of the Americans and French 
were advancing from the north ! The rumour soon gave 
place to a definite report, and the report soon became a 
fact from which the overconfident and startled Cornwallis 
could find no escape. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

Washington's march and Arnold's raid 

It is necessary, in order to understand the events which 
now swiftly followed, to turn to the north and follow the 
plans and movements of Washington. Doubtless no one 
had chafed more over the policy of long delay which he 
had been following than did Washington himself; but if 
one cannot act wisely, it is better not to act at all. But 
there was a method in all of the great commander's work ; 
and, as we know, he had long since decided that his one 
and only hope lay in tiring out the British rather than in 
conquering them in open battle, unless some rare oppor- 
tunity should present itself. At Trenton and Princeton 
he had, indeed, been wonderfully successful ; but the 
opportunity presented there had not been repeated, and 
his troops practically had been defeated in every other 
battle into which he had led them. 

But no Whig who chafed over the enforced idleness of the 
army could have regretted the delay more than did Washing- 
ton, who, whatever else he was, was certainly a man that 
loved action ; and what he suffered under the complainings 
of the people none can ever know. In the spring of 1781, 
however, he began to think that some decisive action 
might be had in the immediate future ; and at Wethers- 
field, Connecticut, he had had a personal interview with 
Rochambeau, in which it was decided to make an attack 
upon New York ; which, if it should do nothing more, 

369 



370 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

might at least induce Clinton to send for a part of the 
army that was then with Cornwallis, and so make the 
contest then going on in South Carolina and the sur- 
rounding region a little more easy for the sadly beset 
Greene and others. 

The French and the English were having a struggle at 
this time, as we have already learned ; and there had been 
much fighting going on among the West Indies. The 
plan now wa£ for de Grasse, who was in command of the 
French fleet in the West Indies, to come to the aid of the 
combined armies in America. 

About the middle of August, word came from de Grasse 
that he would bring his fleet as far north as the Chesa- 
peake ; but the armies, if they wanted to work with him, 
must come to him rather than expect him to come to 
them, for he must return to the West Indies very soon. 
Washington had now also received word from Virginia 
that Cornwallis had practically "bottled himself up" at 
Yorktown, and the great commander suddenly decided to 
take his combined army to that very place and fight Corn- 
wallis before aid could come to that general. The French 
troops were now with Washington ; and if only Clinton with 
his troops could be kept in New York, and the Americans 
could make their way to Virginia before aid could be 
brought Cornwallis, there was every prospect that no one 
would longer have an opportunity to declare that the army 
was not doing anything but waiting. 

How to hold Clinton's army in New York was the first 
problem to be solved. This had to be accomplished by 
stealth, and several methods were employed, among them 
being the old and common trick of having " intercepted " 
letters reach Sir Henry. One of the bearers of these letters 



WASHINGTON'S MARCH AND ARNOLD'S RAID 37 1 

was a young Baptist preacher named Montagnie, who was 
a faithful soldier in Washington's army on the Hudson. 
After having made careful inquiries as to the man, Wash- 
ington summoned the young preacher into his presence 
and told him he desired him to have some despatches 
sewed inside the lining of his coat, and bade him go 
through the Ramapo Pass to carry them to Morristown. 
This Ramapo Pass was a long, narrow defile among the 
Jersey hills, having a broad, swift-running brook on one 
side and steep cliffs on the other side of the roadway that 
led through it. At this time it was considered a very 
dangerous spot, as the "cowboys" made it a place where 
they carried on many of their evil deeds. 

Young Montagnie was aware of all this ; and though he 
readily accepted the duty to which Washington called him, 
he nevertheless ventured to suggest that he was familiar 
with the entire region, and could easily go to Morristown 
across the country, and so avoid the peril of capture at 
Ramapo Pass. In pretended anger, Washington stamped 
his foot and declared that "the duty of the young man 
was to obey, not to suggest plans to his superiors," so 
there was nothing else to be done. A gang of cowboys 
did seize the preacher when he entered the defile, just as 
he had feared and as Washington had hoped ; and he was 
carried to New York and shut up in the old sugar-house 
prison. Of course the concealed letters, meanwhile, had 
been found and taken to Sir Henry Clinton. 

Mr. Montagnie, when he found himself a prisoner in the 
foul sugar-house, naturally was indignant at Washington ; 
but a day or two afterward, when he was shown a copy of 
Rivington's Gazette, in which a long account of his capture 
was given and also it was declared that from the letters 



372 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

taken on his person Sir Henry had learned of the plan of 
Washington and Rochambeau to attack New York at once, 
and that the British general was doing all in his power to 
prepare his men and the city to withstand the proposed 
attack, then he saw it all in its true light and probably 
admired his commander as much as just before he had 
murmured at him. 

The American army now moved swiftly. By various 
routes different parts advanced to Trenton, the French 
soldiers marching by the way of Newark, Elizabethtown, 
and Perth Amboy. At the last-named place they built 
ovens and pretended to make plans to attack Staten 
Island and New York, all of which so completely deceived 
the British that the first inkling they had of what Wash- 
ington was planning to do came when the allied armies 
were already across the Delaware and marching rapidly 
toward Elk or Elkton. It was only then that the Ameri- 
can soldiers themselves understood what was going on, for 
the utmost secrecy had been maintained from the start, 
but the elation of the most of the men was great when the 
truth became known. The people, too, of the country 
through which they were advancing, now aware of the 
project, shared in the enthusiasm and cheered the soldiers 
and leaders and shouted, " Long live Washington ! " as the 
long line of hardy and determined men passed their homes. 

The consternation of Sir Henry Clinton when at last 
he became aware of what " the old fox Washington " was 
doing was great. He was too far away to be pursued, and 
the British fleet from the West Indies had not yet come, 
so he could not go to the aid of Cornwallis by sea. When 
the American army arrived at the Head of Elk, Washing- 
ton, together with Knox, Rochambeau, and a few others, 



WASHINGTON'S MARCH AND ARNOLD'S RAID 373 

hastened to Virginia, arriving at Williamsburgh on the 
14th of September, and immediately began to form their 
plans with an anxiety words cannot picture. So many 
things were likely to happen to spoil it all ! On the 25th 
of September the soldiers, brought by boats from the 
Head of Elk, arrived, and the most serious part of the 
work began. 

Though Sir Henry had not been able to do anything to 
aid Cornwallis directly, he did try to aid him indirectly. If 
something could be done to cause Washington to turn 
back or to feel that his presence was absolutely necessary 
in the North, it might result in being of as great help to 
his perplexed comrade in arms as if he himself had come 
to Yorktown with large reinforcements. The plan he 
adopted was a cruel one and probably did as much to 
increase the bitterness of the Americans as any one event 
of the entire war. 

Benedict Arnold had come north after Cornwallis had 
arrived in Virginia, and Clinton's plan now was to send 
him with a force against New London, Connecticut, the 
very region in which the traitor's boyhood had been 
passed, for he had been born in Norwich (Connecticut), 
January 3d, 1740, and there had learned to be an "apothe- 
cary." So bright and able was he that the men under whom 
he was trained gave him the money ($2000) with which 
to begin business for himself. In 1763, however, he went 
to New Haven and carried on the business of "apothe- 
cary " and bookseller in that place. In his boyhood he 
was known as one who never "took a dare," was athletic 
and very bright, but he was as cruel as he was quick- 
witted. After his treachery there was no part of the 
country where harsher words were spoken of him than in 



374 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

the region where he had been known years before, and the 
resentment in Arnold's heart made the expedition upon 
which Sir Henry Clinton sent him one into which he 
could enter with all his might, mind, and strength. 

It was the morning of September 6th, 1781, when the 
startled people of New London beheld the fleet of twenty- 
four sail of the enemy bearing down the harbour. In two 
divisions the invaders landed, Colonel Eyre having com- 
mand of the force on the Groton side, and Benedict Arnold 
himself being the leader of the force on the New London 
side. In each division there were about eight hundred 
men, — Tories or Hessians for the most part, — and from 
their own experiences and feelings the most ready of all 
to do cruel and evil deeds. 

The few militia at New London at first tried to make a 
stand against their foes, but soon aware that they could do 
nothing, they speedily abandoned Fort Trumbull (on the 
New London side of the Thames) and crossed over to the 
Groton side to assist Colonel Ledyard in trying to hold 
Fort Griswold, which was on that side of the river. Ar- 
nold was therefore left free to vent his ill-will on his old- 
time friends. Houses, stores, the vessels at the wharves, 
the entire town, were soon in flames, and it is said Arnold 
watched it rejoicing. The people were not permitted to 
save even their furniture, and the redcoats plundered and 
pillaged on every side. All together it is said that thirty- 
one stores, sixty-five houses, eighteen shops, the court- 
house, jail, churches, and many other buildings were 
destroyed. 

But alarm guns and the words of couriers were sum- 
moning the angry people of the region, and soon these 
became so numerous that Arnold deemed it wise to 



WASHINGTON'S MARCH AND ARNOLD'S RAID 375 

return to the boats, though a number of his followers were 
shot on the way. 

Arnold had ordered Colonel Eyre to seize Fort Griswold, 
so that any vessels trying to go up the river (fifteen did 
succeed in escaping) might be seized or destroyed. When 
Eyre demanded the surrender of the fort, Colonel Ledyard 
refused, and then followed one of the most desperate strug- 
gles of the entire war. With guns, spears, and clubs, the 
little garrison kept off the attacking force of eight hun- 
dred. The British colonel fell, and the major, as he tried 
to enter the fort, was pierced by a spear (it is said a negro 
did the deed). Two officers and 46 privates of the British 
had been killed, and 8 officers and 139 men wounded, when 
at last Colonel Ledyard decided that the only hope for his 
brave little garrison was in surrendering. 

" Who commands this garrison ? " shouted Major Brom- 
field (a Tory from New Jersey), as he led the redcoats into 
the fort. 

" I did, sir, but you do now," replied Colonel Ledyard, 
as he held forth his sword. 

The enraged Tory snatched the sword and ran it through 
the body of the brave man who had just surrendered. 
His example was instantly followed by his men, and before 
the massacre had been completed, 70 of the brave Ameri- 
cans had been killed and 35 terribly wounded. And all this 
was after they had surrendered ! 

Not satisfied even with the murders they had committed, 
the vile Tories and Hessians took some of the wounded 
prisoners and, placing them in a cart at the brow of the 
hill, gave the cart a push and sent it headlong down the 
steep side toward the river ! Above the noise of the con- 
flagration — for the little place was set on fire — rose the 



376 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

cries of the suffering men. Not even a drink of water was 
given them. Such brutality, such inhuman cruelty, was 
not exceeded elsewhere, and it all was due to the intense 
hatred which the Tories had come to have for their former 
friends and comrades. 

In the night, the traitor commander, with his force and 
forty prisoners, sailed back to New York ; but his cruel raid 
had not served to stop Washington or to cause the great 
commander to turn aside from the one purpose upon which 
he had now started and in which he was so terribly in 
earnest, — the cutting off and capture or defeat of the 
British regulars with Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in Vir- 
ginia. Not even the threats Clinton made to invade New 
Jersey with his army or to go up the Hudson against 
West Point had any effect now, though if the British gen- 
eral had acted as he threatened to do, doubtless he would 
have inflicted great damage upon the American cause. 
But he, too, had his troubles. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 

Before Washington arrived in Virginia a part of the 
French fleet had blockaded the York River, and the re- 
mainder of it was anchored at Lynhaven (or Lynn Haven) 
Bay, after thirty-two hundred French soldiers had been 
landed to join the force of Lafayette. Count de Grasse 
had been eager to attack the British and had urged 
Lafayette to join him in making one ; but the prudent 
" boy " wisely declined to act until Washington himself 
should arrive and decide what was best to be done. 

At sunrise on September 5th, the presence of a large 
fleet off Cape Charles was discovered, and the French 
admiral at first supposed it to be the vessels of his friend 
de Barras, who was expected to arrive at almost any 
moment from Newport. When he was convinced that the 
ships were those of the British admiral Graves, he sailed 
forth to meet them ; though some slight engagements 
followed, no real battle took place during the five days in 
which the opposing naval forces watched each other. 

Word soon came that de Barras had arrived with his 
fleet (some have conjectured that de Grasse was merely 
waiting for his coming and was holding his enemy in a 
position where he could do no damage), and de Grasse 
sailed back to his former position. There was now no 
hope of escape for Cornwallis by sea unless the British 

377 



378 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

fleet came to his relief, and on land a line of troops cut off 
a retreat in that direction. 

Three days after the arrival of Washington, he, with 
General Knox, Rochambeau, and others, paid a visit to 
de Grasse on board the Ville de Paris, the flagship of the 
French fleet. The admiral having had word that the fleet 
of the British admiral Graves had been strengthened by 
the addition of the vessels under the command of Admiral 
Digby, de Grasse was for going to sea at once and meet- 
ing his foes. Such a departure would mean that Corn- 
wallis would no longer be blockaded and might escape by 
sea, and the heart of the great commander must have 
been heavy as he thought of the possibility of all his plans 
and labours being blasted by this mistake. However, the 
Frenchman was at last persuaded to remain, and as soon 
as the army from the Head of Elk arrived, as it did Sep- 
tember 25th, plans were at once made for an attack on the 
intrenchments of Cornwallis. 

Opposite Yorktown was Gloucester Point, where Corn- 
wallis had stationed Colonel Tarleton with about seven 
hundred men. The French general de Choisy, with some 
of the Virginia militia, was to hold this detachment where 
it was, while the main body moved forward upon the post 
held by Cornwallis. 

On October 6th, the Americans had moved up within six 
hundred yards of the English lines, and in the night time, 
working silently and with desperate haste, their first par- 
allel was begun, and when daylight appeared they had 
erected earthworks that were strong enough to protect 
them. On October 9th and 10th, the batteries of the Ameri- 
cans and French were firing, and so terrible was the effect 
that one of the British gunboats and three of the trans- 



THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 379 

ports were burned, and many a redcoat lost his life. 
Under the cover of the darkness and the protection of 
the firing, the busy Americans had dug the trenches and 
thrown up the embankments which formed the second 
parallel and were now within three hundred yards of 
Cornwallis's works. 

The British, however, were still true Britons, and had not 
been idle ; for they had advanced their redoubts in front 
of their works, and the toiling Americans were greatly 
harassed by the fire that came from them. To put an end 
to this trouble it was determined that these positions 
should be taken, and on the evening of October 14th, Lafay- 
ette led an American detachment toward the left of these 
redoubts, while Baron de Viomenil led a similar detach- 
ment of French soldiers against the one on the right. 

Captain Aaron Ogden of New Jersey led the van of the 
division commanded by Lafayette. Not a gun had been 
loaded, but with fixed bayonets the men leaped over the 
abatis, climbed the palisades, and within two minutes, so 
desperate was their charge, the redoubt was taken and 
all the British there were prisoners. Viomenil and his 
followers also' succeeded in taking the other redoubt, 
though the Baron lost almost one hundred men in the 
assault, whereas Lafayette had lost but a few. Batteries 
were now placed in the captured positions and the guns 
turned upon the British. 

The plight of Cornwallis was becoming desperate, but 
he was not yet ready to give up. About four o'clock on 
the morning of October 16th, he sent a detachment under 
Colonel Abercrombie to assault two of the batteries that 
were guarded by the French troops. The assault was 
made with the fury of desperation and at first was success- 



380 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

ful, for the French soldiers were driven back ; but the fire 
from the trenches upon the redcoats became so furious 
that they in turn were driven back to their comrades, and 
the attempt to cut their way through their enemies had 
failed. Still Cornwallis was not ready to give up. 

His next plan was to leave the sick and wounded in the 
camp and cross by boats to Gloucester Point. A hundred 
cannon were by this time pounding at his position. No 
fleet had come to his aid, and his situation was desperate 
indeed. A few boatloads of his soldiers had already 
crossed to Gloucester Point ; but a sudden and severe storm 
arose, the boats were scattered, and the second attempt to 
escape had failed. 

On the following day still more guns were in action, and 
Cornwallis was almost in despair. At ten o'clock that 
morning (October 17) he sent word to Washington, begging 
for hostilities to cease for twenty-four hours. Washington 
replied that he too was eager "to spare the further effusion 
of blood," but he refused to stop action for more than two 
hours. He had no thought in that terribly anxious hour 
of permitting Clinton to come to the aid of the desperate 
force he was attacking, and he was fearful any moment of 
learning that such aid had come. 

Cornwallis then submitted his propositions, and Wash- 
ington made a rough draft of the things he should require, 
and the suggestions of the two commanders were enough 
alike to lead Washington to decide to suspend hostilities 
through the day and night. Colonel Laurens and Viscount 
de Noailles were to be the commissioners for the Ameri- 
cans, and Colonel Dundas and Major Ross were to serve 
in a similar capacity for the British. These commissioners 
met in the house of Mrs. Moore, which was near the right 



THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 381 

of the American lines, on the morning of October 18th, but 
they were not able to agree fully as to terms. Again 
Washington, fearful that the British were fighting for time, 
was compelled to be decisive, and on the early morning of 
October 19th, 1781, he sent a written draft of the rough out- 
line of the terms he required and also a letter in which he 
declared that he " expected " the terms would be signed 
by Cornwallis before eleven o'clock that morning. The 
articles were signed, the British troops marched out of 
the town, and General Lincoln received the surrender 
which had been granted on the very same terms he himself 
had received from Cornwallis at Charleston. The Ameri- 
can army was drawn up on the right side of the road over 
which the surrendered British were to come, and the 
French were on the left, the two lines extending for more 
than a mile. At the head of the American line was Wash- 
ington mounted on a white horse, and Rochambeau on a 
bay horse was at the head of the French. A great crowd 
of the country people had also come to see the proud Corn- 
wallis surrender to his enemy ; but the conquered general 
was too "ill " to appear and so sent General O'Hara in his 
stead. That officer was directed to give the sword of 
Cornwallis to General Lincoln, who after receiving the 
sword gave it back to the general who had surrendered it. 
Twenty-eight British captains now advanced, each bear- 
ing a flag in a case, and the same number of American 
sergeants advanced to receive the colours. When the order 
was given for the British captains to give up the flags, 
they hesitated. Colonel Hamilton, who was the officer of 
the day, at once rode forward to inquire into the meaning 
of the delay, and was informed that they did not like to 
give up their colours to non-commissioned officers. Hamil- 



382 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

ton politely ordered young Ensign Wilson of Clinton's 
brigade (he was but eighteen years of age) to receive the 
colours, and then to hand them to the waiting sergeants, 
which was done. 

All the redcoats then grounded their arms and laid aside 
their accoutrements, and were marched back to their 
lines. The New Jersey Gazette, in its issue of November 
7th, 1 78 1, in a description of the surrender has also the 
following : " The British officers in general behaved like 
boys who have been whipped at school ; some bit their 
lips, some pouted, others cried ; their round, broad-brimmed 
hats were well adapted to the occasion, hiding those faces 
they were ashamed to show. The foreign regiments 
made a much more military appearance, and the conduct 
of their officers was far more becoming men of forti- 
tude." 

The seamen and the shipping were assigned to the 
French, but the 7000 soldiers became the prisoners of the 
victorious Americans. Of the British, 552 had been killed 
or wounded in the siege of thirteen days, and about 300 of 
the Americans and French had fallen. The artillery of 
Cornwallis, his arms, ammunition, and stores, formed a rich 
prize for the conquerors ; but the glory and the moral 
effect of the victory were far greater. Once more the 
large-mindedness of Washington appeared, for he permitted 
Cornwallis to send the Bonetta to New York to Clinton 
with the message of the surrender, and on board of her 
went many Tories who had been with the British at York- 
town, and were fearful of falling into the hands of the 
Americans. The prisoners were led to Winchester, Vir- 
ginia, and Fredericktown, Maryland, and some of them 
were afterward sent to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Corn- 



THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 383 

wallis himself and some of his principal officers were 
paroled and sent to New York. 

The surrender had been made at just the opportune 
time for the Americans, for on the very day when Corn- 
wallis surrendered, Clinton had set sail with 7000 of his 
best troops to come to the aid of his friend. Five days 
afterward, when the fleet arrived off the Virginia capes, 
word was received of the fate of the army of Corn wallis, 
and though the British delayed for a few days, it was ap- 
parent that they had come too late to accomplish anything ; 
accordingly, on the 29th of October, Sir Henry Clinton 
and Admiral Graves sailed away for New York, sadder 
and doubtless somewhat wiser men than they previously 
had been. 

The surrender of Cornwallis produced the greatest joy 
in the American camp. Special praise was bestowed upon 
Lincoln, Knox, Lafayette, du Portail, and Steuben of the 
American army, and upon Rochambeau and others of the 
French army. If any soldiers were under arrest, they were 
ordered to be set free, and a time of general thanksgiving 
was held. 

Washington sent his aide, Colonel Tilghman, post haste 
to Philadelphia with the news, and at midnight, four days 
after the surrender, so excellent was the time the officer 
made, he rode into that city. The excited messenger 
rapped so loudly on the door of the house in which Thomas 
M'Kean, then president of the Continental Congress, re- 
sided that the night watchman almost decided to arrest 
him. "Cornwallis is taken ! " however, became too strong 
a message to be set aside, and soon every watchman in the 
city was calling out the joyful tidings as he proclaimed the 
hour of the night. 



384 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

Congress assembled at an early hour, and when the 
letter of Washington was read, the staid statesmen huzzaed 
and acted generally like a band of boys just out of school. 
However, they voted their thanks to Washington, Rocham- 
beau, de Grasse and others ; presented each of these two 
Frenchmen with two of the captured cannon ; gave two of 
the stands of colours to Washington in the name of the 
United States, and did various other deeds, notable among 
which was the gift to Colonel Tilghman, who had brought 
the message, of a sword and a fine horse. December 13th 
was appointed as a day of thanksgiving and rejoicing, and 
the pulpits, societies, and the people of the little nation 
rejoiced as perhaps never they had done before. 

The French afterward calmly claimed the victory as one 
which they had won. Fairness compels us gladly to 
admit that their aid was great, but the plan and victory 
belonged to Washington and the patriots who had fought 
with him. 

Soon after Cornwallis surrendered, Washington tried 
to induce de Grasse to go to South Carolina to the aid of 
General Greene ; but the French admiral declined to do so, 
and was not willing even to go to help the little force 
which Colonel Craig then had at Wilmington, North Caro- 
lina. So strongly did Washington feel about the matter 
that he not only wrote a letter to de Grasse, but he also 
paid him a long visit in the Ville de Paris, the flagship 
of the French fleet. But the admiral was obstinate and 
would not even carry the troops to the aid of Greene. 

We must remember, however, that the French were in 
America not so much to aid the Americans as to hurt Great 
Britain, and de Grasse had his own plans and orders as to 
how this was best to be done, and believing as he did that 



THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS 385 

his chief work lay in the region of the West Indies he 
is not to be blamed for going there, especially as he was 
afterward soundly whipped there by the English fleet. 
The most that can be said is that though the French had 
aided the Americans at Yorktown, they did not deserve all 
the credit they took to themselves for the victory which 
was won. Count de Grasse did, however, consent to cover 
the transporting of the soldiers from the country east of 
Pennsylvania to the Head of Elk, and then quickly set sail 
for the West Indies. 

The French troops under Rochambeau, however, re- 
mained in Virginia, and that sterling leader was most 
gratefully remembered by all who knew him. In the 
following summer (1782) his men joined the Continental 
army on the Hudson, and in the autumn proceeded to 
New England, and embarking early in December at 
Boston, sailed away for sunny France. 

General Washington himself, as soon as he had arranged 
all his plans at Yorktown, made haste to go to Eltham, 
where Mr. Custis, the son of Mrs. Washington, lay dying. 
The general arrived before the death of the young man, and 
remaining a few days after his decease, then made his way 
back to his army. It is interesting to know that he him- 
self adopted two of the four young children who survived 
their father, Mr. Custis. 

Washington's ride through the country was everywhere 
made the occasion of great rejoicing ; and at Philadelphia, 
where he remained a few days, all classes united to do 
him honour. When he went to the State House, where 
Congress was in session, a congratulatory address was 
made by the president of that body, and doubtless the 
heart of the great soldier was then amply repaid for the 



386 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

many misunderstandings and the long period through 
which he had patiently waited for the end to come. 

General St. Clair, with a body of troops, was sent to aid 
Greene, and marching by the way of Wilmington, North 
Carolina, he drove the enemy from that place ; and soon, 
as far as an open enemy was concerned, both Virginia and 
North Carolina were free. 

Mad Anthony Wayne with a body of troops went to 
Georgia, where he had several engagements with the red- 
coats and the Tories and Indians ; but the hearts of the 
Americans were bold now, while those of their foes were 
cast down, and at last the British evacuated Savannah, in 
July, 1782, and when Wayne took possession of that town 
the war in Georgia was ended. 

In South Carolina there were some skirmishes and 
minor engagements, which were then fought with exceed- 
ing bitterness, though the numbers engaged were com- 
paratively few. Charleston was evacuated by the British 
December 14th, 1782, and when Wayne with his five thou- 
sand troops entered the town, South Carolina, too, was rid 
of her open enemies, though the Tories were still as bitter 
as ever. 

The last engagement of the war was an attack on the 
British stationed on John's Island, near Charleston, and 
though the Americans were driven back and their leader, 
Captain Wilmot, was killed, the result did not affect the 
outcome of the war. This was in September, 1782, and 
by many, as has been stated, the action has been looked 
upon as the last engagement of the Revolution, and 
Captain Wilmot as the last patriot to give up his life 
for his country in battle. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 



THE STRUGGLE ON THE SEA 



In this account of the contest waged by our fathers not 
much has been made of the war on the ocean. This does 
not mean that no fighting occurred on the sea, but is the 
rather due to the fact that the Americans, having been 
colonists up to the time of the beginning of the war, had 
had no navy of their own, and for protection had been 
accustomed to depend upon the war-vessels of the mother 
country, which then, as she is now, was very strong in her 
fleets. 

This weakness was recognized early in the war, how- 
ever, and late in the year 1775 Congress had given orders 
for a fleet of fourteen vessels to be built as a " navy," and 
in December of that year Ezekiel Hopkins of Rhode Island 
was appointed commander-in-chief of the fleet. He was 
sometimes called " admiral " and sometimes " commodore," 
but his title did not seem to amount to very much, anyway, 
for less than half the vessels destined to form the fleet ever 
succeeded in putting out to sea. Indeed, the new "ad- 
miral" had a hard time of it; for when, in April, 1776, he, 
with three small brigs and two sloops, attacked the British 
sloop of war Glasgow, he was defeated in the struggle. 
His failure so angered his countrymen that a " vote of 
censure " was passed upon him by Congress in October of 
that same year, and he was soon afterward dismissed from 

387 



388 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

the service ; and after that time the country had neither 
"admiral" nor "commodore." 

One of the captains under Hopkins, however, after fight- 
ing the British tender, Edward, for an hour off the coast 
of Virginia, succeeded in taking her, and so was the first to 
capture a vessel of the enemy in the Revolution. His 
name was John Barry, and after a brave and useful service 
throughout the war, he became the " commander-in-chief of 
the navy " ; that is, as far as the navy could be said to have 
a commander. 

With their privateers, however, — that is, with vessels 
owned by private persons, but commissioned by the Con- 
tinental Congress or the Congress of one of the states to 
capture British vessels, — great work was done. The idea 
of a navy was not entirely abandoned, but Congress had so 
little money and the British vessels off the American coast 
were so strong that it was almost impossible to do much, 
and the few vessels that were built were either taken by the 
strong and fleet ships of the British navy or were burned 
in the Hudson or the Delaware River to prevent their seiz- 
ure by the enemy. 

After Benjamin Franklin, in 1778, had succeeded in 
making an alliance with France, he was given a large num- 
ber of blank commissions which he was to fill out as he 
deemed wise, and he was quick to use the permission, for 
he purchased many vessels in France which went forth as 
privateers, manned by crews in which the Americans fre- 
quently were outnumbered by the motley collection of men 
that made up their rolls. Just how many prizes were 
taken by the Americans will never be known. The num- 
ber, however, has been stated as seven hundred, while 
those taken by the British exceeded that number by two 



THE STRUGGLE ON THE SEA 389 

hundred or more, which certainly is not a poor showing 
for a weak and poverty-stricken country engaged in a war 
with the nation that was the most powerful on earth in its 
fleets. 

Even before Franklin had made the alliance with 
France, however, some work had been done, for two of the 
best of the privateers, the Reprisal and the Revenge, in 

1777 had been cruising among the British isles, and so 
great was the damage they did that the English mer- 
chantmen were almost afraid to set forth from their ports 
or to try to go to sea. It is not pleasant to relate that 
after his successful work, Lambert Wickes, the captain of 
the Reprisal, with his gallant ship and all his crew, was 
lost off the Newfoundland coast in a storm. 

Of the work (and the romance) of Gustavus Conyngham 
in the Revenge and the Surprise, we have already learned ; 
the part which the devoted wife of the " arch rebel," 
as the British called him, took in saving the life of her 
husband is not the least interesting of the events in the 
career of the daring young sailor. 

John Paul Jones, however, was probably the ablest, as he 
certainly was the most daring, which is saying much for 
him, of all the American sailors engaged in the war of the 
Revolution. Though he was a Scotchman by birth, he had 
been so many times to America, and had come to feel so 
much at home there, that two years before the breaking 
out of the war, he had made his true home in Virginia. 
He was a young man (as were most of the leaders), but he 
made up in daring what he lacked in experience, and in 

1778 in the Ranger he had not only captured or burned 
many British merchantmen, but had even taken the Brit- 
ish sloop of war Drake ; and the angry Englishmen were 



390 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

ready to hang him as a traitor from the yardarms. But 
they had to take him before they could hang him, and that 
they soon found was a problem very difficult to solve. 

The great work of John Paul Jones was done in the 
year 1779. Franklin, in France, fitted out a fleet of five 
vessels, and the command was given to this daring little 
sailor. His work was mapped out to be done off the coast 
of Great Britain, for it was hoped that by inflicting some 
damage there the British vessels might be induced to 
return from America, where they were free to destroy or 
plunder the towns on the coast. Only one of the vessels 
was of any respectable size, and, as that was old and so 
rotten as almost to be unseaworthy, it did not promise to 
be of any great service. The ship was the Duras, formerly 
engaged in the India merchant service, but the French- 
men bought and fitted it up, changing the name to Bon 
Homme Richard, as a compliment to Benjamin Franklin, 
who was as popular in France as he was among his own 
countrymen. 

Although Captain Jones had a crew of 380 men, only 
about 100 of them were Americans, the others having 
been gathered from almost anywhere and everywhere. 
The other four vessels of his fleet were the Pallas, the 
Vengeance, the Cerf, and the Alliance, the last-named 
being really an American-built ship and named in honour 
of the newly formed alliance between the United States 
and France. To make this recognition of the friendship 
between the two nations still stronger, the Alliance, which 
happened to be in France at the time, was placed in com- 
mand of Captain Landais, who, as it proved, could not 
manage his own ship and would not listen to John Paul 
Jones, who he affected to believe was not very much 01 



THE STRUGGLE ON THE SEA 391 

a sailor. Indeed, the captain of each vessel was almost 
as " independent " as the independent United States of 
America, and the wonder is not that Jones did not do 
more, but that he ever could have done as much as he did. 
Even the crews were " independent " of their officers, and 
all together it was a strange " fleet " of which young Paul 
Jones had " command " when he set sail for the British 
coast in September, 1779. 

For a time the fleet kept the eastern coast of Scotland 
and England in alarm. Towns were threatened, some 
prizes were taken, and as some Spanish vessels at the 
same time were also threatening the same coast, the people 
were in a continued state of fear. 

At last on September 23d, 1779, Jones fell in with two 
British frigates, the Serapis of 40 guns and the Countess 
of Scarborough of 22 guns, off Flamborough Head. The 
frigates were the convoy of a fleet of 40 merchant vessels 
that stretched out in a long line from the Head, and as 
soon as Jones saw the sails he signalled for a chase. The 
frightened merchantmen were instantly thrown into con- 
fusion, but the two British frigates approached ready for 
battle. Captain Landais of the Alliance immediately fled ; 
but while the other vessels of his fleet engaged the Coun- 
tess of Scarborough, Jones, with the Bon Homme Richard, 
advanced upon the Serapis. It was near evening, and the 
twilight had just disappeared when the action began, — an 
action which proved to be one of the most desperate and 
bloody of all recorded sea-fights. In many ways the 
Serapis in her equipment as well as in her crew was the 
superior of Jones's vessel, but nothing apparently daunted 
the young captain. 

Each vessel suffered fearfully from the fire. At last, 



392 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

when the bowsprit of the Serapis ran between the poop 
and the mizzenmast of the Bon Homme Richard, in the 
endeavour of Captain Pearson to gain the advantage in 
position, Captain Jones instantly caused the two vessels 
to be lashed together, which made the contest almost a 
hand-to-hand one. With pikes, with pistols, with cut- 
lasses, the sailors fought more like demons than human 
beings. The two twelve-pounders of the Bon Homme 
Richard had been silenced, and water was pouring into 
her from the holes made by the eighteen-pound balls 
of the Serapis. Three nine-pounders still kept at work, 
and the sailors stationed in the rigging were pouring 
a destructive and continuous fire upon the men on the 
deck of the Serapis. After fighting for two and a half 
hours, some cartridges on the Serapis were ignited by 
a hand grenade thrown by one of the American sailors, 
and in the explosion that followed many of the British 
crew were blown into atoms. Each vessel was on fire 
three different times during the fight, and the decks were 
covered with the dead or wounded or with fragments of 
human bodies. 

At this time the Alliance approached and delivered 
several broadsides, by which not only did the Serapis suffer, 
but eleven of the crew of the Bon Homme Richard were 
killed and one officer mortally wounded. It was declared 
that Captain Landais had fired upon the American vessel 
deliberately, believing that she would be compelled to sur- 
render, and then, the Serapis being damaged as she was, 
he thought he might easily retake both and thus receive 
a double honour. He was afterwards charged with this 
crime, but as many believed him to be insane, his only 
punishment was dismissal from the service. 



THE STRUGGLE ON THE SEA 393 

The flag of the Serapis had been nailed to the mast, but 
the struggle was now hopeless. The American vessel was 
almost in as bad a plight as her enemy, and the one hum 
dred British prisoners on board were working at the 
pumps to prevent her from sinking. At last with his own 
hands John Paul Jones fired two of the cannon, and the 
mainmast of the Serapis was about to fall. The vessels 
were cut apart, and Captain Pearson with his own hands 
struck his colours and surrendered the frigate to Lieuten- 
ant Richard Dale, the sturdy helper of Jones, who was the 
first to board her. All night long men from the other 
vessels of the fleet worked desperately to keep the Bon 
Homme Richard afloat and put out the fires, but at ten 
o'clock on the following morning she sank. The fearful 
conflict, in which fewer survived than fell, was ended, and 
John Paul Jones had won one of the most glorious vic- 
tories in all the history of naval warfare. 

As the English had declared they would hang him if he 
should be taken, he had an unusual motive, born not only 
of the love for America, but also of his hatred for England, 
that had made him fight as he did. 1 It is said that when 
Captain Pearson gave up his sword, he said to Jones, "I 
cannot, sir, but feel much mortification at the idea of 
surrendering my sword to a man who has fought me 
with a rope round his neck" 

To which Jones, after the sword was returned, replied, 
" You have fought me gallantly, sir, and I hope your king 
will give you a better ship." 

Afterward, when John Paul Jones heard that King 
George had knighted Captain Pearson for his desperate fight, 
the gallant commander of the Bon Homme Richard is said 

1 This story has been denied by some historians. 



394 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

to have remarked, " He deserves it, and if I fall in with 
him again, I will make a lord of him." The value of the 
prizes taken by Jones in this September cruise has been 
stated at $200,000. 

The wounded had been placed on board the captured 
Serapis, but not many hours afterward she too sank, and 
then Jones, with what was left of his fleet, arrived safely 
off the coast of Holland. The British demanded that he 
and his crews and vessels should be given up to them ; 
but the Hollanders had no love for the English, and John 
Paul Jones was enabled to escape to France. In the fall 
of 1780 he sailed for America, and after one or two minor 
engagements, arrived at Philadelphia in February, 1781, 
where he received a welcome that did him honour. But 
the Americans were not the only ones to do him honour, 
however ; for already the rulers of France, Russia, Den- 
mark, and Holland had bestowed marked honours upon him, 
given him pensions, and done many other things that might 
well have turned the head of the young hero. Eight years 
after the battle the American Congress (they had previ- 
ously voted him the thanks of the nation) ordered a gold 
medal to be presented to "the Chevalier John Paul Jones." 
He was placed in command of the America, of seventy-four 
guns, but he had no opportunity to display his prowess, 
for the war being virtually ended, Congress made a present 
of the new vessel to France. Afterward John Paul Jones 
entered the naval service of Russia, but it is sad to record 
that he died in middle life in Paris in poverty and neglect. 

In June, 1779, the British were engaged in erecting a 
fort at Penobscot (Castine), Maine. The force engaged in 
the work had come from Halifax, and General McLean was 
in command of the men. It was resolved in July of that year 



THE STRUGGLE ON THE SEA 395 

that an expedition should be sent from Boston to demolish 
this fort and prevent the enemy from gaining a foothold 
there. It was expected that fifteen hundred men would 
go, but the response to the call was not generous, and prob- 
ably not more than nine hundred men started, and some 
of these only under very strong pressure. The land forces 
were under the command of Generals Lovell and Wads- 
worth, while Saltonstall was in command of the fleet, which 
was composed of nineteen armed vessels and twenty-four 
transports. 

The leaders of the militia and the commander of the 
fleet did not agree very well, and there were many things, 
such as head winds, etc., that had hindered the movement. 
However, as McLean was in no condition to withstand a 
vigorous attack, probably if Lovell had acted promptly, the 
place would have been taken. He had demanded the sur- 
render of the fort upon his arrival, but of course his demand 
was refused. Then Lovell began to erect a battery 750 
yards from the fort, but when at last he was ready to act 
his cannonade was harmless from such a distance. 

Plans were then made to storm the place, and McLean, 
who had received word of the doings of his enemy, pre- 
pared to withstand the attack ; but at the time when the 
assault was hardly begun he was astonished to discover that 
the militia had left their works and gone on board the fleet. 
The reason for this sudden change became apparent when 
it was learned that Sir George Collyer had arrived with 
six large armed vessels. 

The American fleet at first made ready to fight, but 
courage failed, and in a brief time the vessels were scat- 
tered. Some had been blown up, others captured, and 
the remainder were set on fire by their own men as soon 



396 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

as the troops landed, to prevent them from falling into the 
hands of the British. The whole affair was most dis- 
heartening, but the Massachusetts General Court made 
an investigation, in which the blame was placed upon the 
commander of the fleet, and both General Lovell and Gen- 
eral Wadsworth were commended for the parts they had 
taken. 

The soldiers and sailors, after landing on the desolate 
shore, made their way in small bands through the wilder- 
ness, suffering fearful hardships ; but after a march of a 
hundred miles through the pathless forests, they arrived 
once more among their friends. 

In the last three years of the war only two American 
frigates were in the service, and they were too small to 
be a serious menace to the powerful British navy. The 
French fleets, with the exception of the aid given at York- 
town when Cornwallis was captured, had practically done 
nothing on the American coast. 

But though the Americans had no navy, they had skill 
and determination ; and the account of the daring deeds 
of the privateers of the Revolution reads almost like a 
romance. Large vessels and small " whaleboats," little 
sloops, and boats of various kinds all along the coast were 
constantly attacking the stronger vessels of the enemy, 
and many a time were successful. At least something of 
their boldness may be understood when, as was said at the 
beginning of this chapter, nearly seven hundred prizes 
were taken from the British; and though more of their 
own vessels were lost than they captured of the ships of 
the enemy, still the result, all things considered, was most 
remarkable for the American sailors. 

In the second war with England, the War of 1812, Great 



THE STRUGGLE ON THE SEA 397 

Britain was astonished at the power of the despised Amer- 
ican navy ; and the victories won on the sea in that war 
in a measure atoned for the many defeats on the land. 
But that, after all, was only the harvest of the seed sown 
in the earlier days. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

PEACE 

With the surrender of Cornwallis, the most serious part 
of the struggle was ended. The news of his fall made 
heavy hearts among the supporters of the king, and his 
advisers in England ; while the friends of the colonies 
were correspondingly elated. Feeling ran high, and the 
speeches in Parliament were among the most eloquent in 
England's history ; for strong excitement among the peo- 
ple is as necessary as great emotion in a speaker to pro- 
duce a truly eloquent speech. The opponents of the war 
kept steadily pressing their measures; and though defeated 
at first, still on every vote the number of the majority 
decreased, until at last the victory had been won, the min- 
istry resigned, commissioners from each side of the ocean 
were appointed to agree on the terms of peace, and hostili- 
ties were to cease. 

In America the people waited, but not with all the 
patience to be desired at such a time. A struggle lasting 
for so many years had increased the bitterness of the feel- 
ing between the Whigs and Tories, until it is probable in 
all the war there was not more suffering among the scat- 
tered homes than at this time. Raids and counter-raids 
were common ; and where there was no central power and 
no one knew just what the laws were or were to be, the 
lawless elements naturally abounded. 

398 



PEACE 



399 



However, in 1783 the final treaty of peace was made. 
The United States of America were acknowledged to be 
a free and independent nation. Canada was to be the 
boundary on the north, Florida (which then extended 
to the Mississippi River) was to be the boundary on the 
south, while the Mississippi River itself was to form the 
western bound. 

What the war had cost in money and lives can never 
be exactly known. As the debt of Great Britain was in- 
creased $610,000,000 during that period, something of an 
estimate of the price she paid can be made. The esti- 
mate of the money it had cost the United States was 
$135,000,000. 

Nor is it possible to know just the numbers of men 
engaged in the struggle. Probably not more than forty 
thousand redcoats were ever in the field at any one time, 
and the Continentals numbered about the same. This, of 
course, is exclusive of the militia and the scattered Whigs, 
who fought many a fight to preserve their homes and to 
protect their families. All together, the number of Conti- 
nentals provided by each state during the war is stated as 
follows : — 



New Hampshire . 


. • 12,497 


Massachusetts 


■ • 67,907 


Rhode Island . . 


5,908 


Connecticut . . 


• 31.939 


New York . . . 


. 17,781 


New Jersey . . 


10,726 


Pennsylvania . . 


. 25,678 



The feeling aga 



Delaware 2,386 

Maryland I3>9i2 

Virginia 26,678 

North Carolina . . . 7,263 

South Carolina . . . 6,417 

Georgia 2,679 



inst the Tories, many of whom were 
doubtless as sincere in their devotion to Old England as 
were the Whigs to the new country, became so bitter and 



400 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

intense that most of the states passed laws confiscating 
their property. Thus deprived of their possessions and 
fearing to remain among a people whom they hated and 
who hated them, when the redcoats left the country, most 
of the Tories left too. To the British possessions in the 
West Indies went the Tories from the southern states, 
while those from the north for the most part went to 
Canada or to Nova Scotia. 

Their poverty, however, was not so great as was that of 
the Americans who had fought for so many years in 
the army. Business, if they had had any before the 
war, was gone, and for a time the struggle for existence 
became intense. The leaders, or at least many of them, 
were in this respect no better off than their followers ; 
but the country was new and the demands of life not 
many, and the resolute will with which the men of the 
new nation set to work in a brief time brought marvellous 
results to pass. 

It is interesting to remark that the first bloodshed had 
occurred in North Carolina and the last conflict was in 
South Carolina. These engagements were among the 
minor incidents of the war, but they are worthy of note 
as marking the beginning and the end of the war of 
the American Revolution. 

Against the dark background of the long struggle stand 
forth the names of men whom all the world delights to 
honour. Washington, Greene, Adams, Hancock, Knox, 
Jefferson, Morris, and a host of others respond to the roll 
call of American heroes, but we must not forget that 
among the people there was a spirit as true and a courage 
and determination as high as that which moved the leaders. 
Sometimes we have been prone to exalt the one at the 



PEACE 401 

expense of the other, but both are worthy of honour and 
remembrance. 

It was not merely the freedom of a people that had been 
won, but freedom of thought as well. This ideal of free 
men crossed back over the sea after the war and wrought 
revolutions in other lands. It penetrated even the darker 
regions, and to-day there is scarcely a civilized nation in 
all the world that does not owe much to those fathers of 
ours who rebelled, not so much against Great Britain, as 
against certain ideas of a small part of the English people. 

Indeed, the quarrel was much like that which sometimes 
occurs between brothers. They may differ much the one 
from the other, but when an outsider ventures to molest 
either, he is reasonably certain to feel the resentment of 
both. The ideals and aims, the customs and laws, the 
schools and religion, of the two nations still show the com- 
mon heritage of both ; and though each nation is now 
independent of the other, still both, forgetting the intense 
bitterness of the famous conflict, though never forgetful of 
its heroes and heroism, stand upon a more nearly common 
ground than do any other two nations on earth. 

The troubles of General Washington were almost at an 
end, though those of President Washington were not yet 
begun. The poor American soldiers, paid with promises 
that were for the most part unfulfilled, with trade or busi- 
ness gone, many with wives and children dependent upon 
them, were almost desperate as the end of the time of their 
service drew near. Congress had not only used up all the 
money it had received, but had made so many promises 
that it seemed hardly possible they ever could be fulfilled ; 
but it is pleasing to record the fact, even in the midst of 
the prevailing gloom, that the soldiers who now made 



402 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

trouble, as a rule were not those who had served through 
the long and weary years of the war, but were those who 
had been the last to be enrolled. The fear was prevalent 
that Congress would disband the army without attempting 
to pay the soldiers the sums that were due them. 

Nothing spreads more rapidly than fear or a panic, and 
soon some of the men were ready for desperate measures 
to compel Congress to do them justice. The members of 
Congress, many of whom had already suffered the loss of 
all things for the sake of their country, had no disposition 
to rob the poor soldiers, we may be sure ; but as it is said 
to be impossible to extract blood from a stone, so from an 
empty treasury is it impossible to obtain gold. 

In October, 1780, Congress had passed an act granting 
the officers of the army half pay for life ; but nine of the 
states had failed to approve this measure, and as the end 
drew near, the poor officers, or rather some of them, their 
possessions as well as their time and labours having been 
given to the struggling country, sent a petition to Congress 
begging that the half pay for life might be changed to full 
pay for five years, together with all the money due them at 
the time. 

Fearful, as Congress delayed to act upon the request, 
that their reasonable demand was to be refused, a move- 
ment was started in the camp at Newburgh which made it 
appear that if Congress did not do them justice by its 
own free will, the soldiers would compel recognition of 
their rights by some acts of their own that would be 
unmistakable. 

Again the greatness of Washington shines forth ; for, 
being at the time in the camp, he assembled the desperate 
men and talked to them so calmly and with so much sym- 



PEACE 403 

pathy and evident appreciation of their sufferings and 
feelings, that the men yielded to his desires. Then 
Washington wrote Congress a letter in which he urged 
the justice of the pleas of the army, and it was voted to 
grant the requests of the soldiers. 

Again trouble arose in Philadelphia. Congress, in Octo- 
ber, 1783, declared that the soldiers in the army were to 
be discharged on the 3d of December. Once more fear 
seized upon the men at Lancaster that they were not to 
be treated justly, and about eighty of them proceeded to 
Philadelphia, and there, with others, marched to the State 
House, where Congress was in session, and placing guards 
armed with bayonets at the doors to prevent the escape of 
the members, sent in a message that if their demand for 
pay was not granted within twenty minutes they would 
compel action by force of arms. Surely the lot of a 
Congressman in those early days was not a happy one. 

For three hours the members of Congress were held as 
prisoners ; but then being let go, they fled to Princeton. 
As soon as Washington learned of the trouble, he sent a 
strong force of soldiers to Philadelphia ; but the storm had 
subsided before they arrived. 

On the 25th of November, the British evacuated New 
York, having previously abandoned all the other places 
they held except the forts north of the Ohio River, which 
they steadily refused to give up until twelve years more 
had passed. 

As soon as the British had departed, the American 
army entered and took possession of the city of New 
York. Crowds of assembled people cheered, the roar of 
cannon added its volume to the sound, and the delight of 
the multitude apparently knew no bounds. A dinner was 



404 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

given the officers by Governor Clinton at Fraunce's Tavern, 
and in the evening the city was ablaze with bonfires and 
rockets. 

On Thursday, December 4th, 1783, the prominent offi* 
cers were again assembled at the tavern of Samuel Fraunce, 
this time to take leave of their great commander, who 
had led the army to its final victory. When Washington 
entered the room, it was evident to all that he was 
strongly affected. All the hardships, struggles, bitterness, 
disappointments, and victories and defeats were things of 
the past, and yet were to be a living, lasting part of the 
life of every soldier in the room. 

At last Washington said : " With a heart full of love 
and gratitude I now take leave of you. I most devoutly 
wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and 
happy as your former ones have been glorious and honour- 
able. I cannot come to each of you to take my leave, but 
shall be obliged to you if each will come and take me by 
the hand." 

General Knox, who was standing nearest him, instantly 
turned and grasped the outstretched hand of his com- 
mander. Both were in tears, as was almost every one in 
the room. In the midst of it all, Washington turned and 
kissed his faithful friend. Indeed, it is said that every 
officer was thus accosted in that parting scene. 

The farewell having been spoken, Washington left the 
room, and, solemnly silent, walked down to Whitehall, a 
vast concourse of people following him all the way, and 
there entering a boat, was ferried across to the Jersey 
shore and departed on his way to Annapolis, where 
Congress was in session, in order that he might resign 
the commission of commander of the army of America 



PEACE 405 

into the hands that had given it to him so many years 
before. 

He remained for a few days in Philadelphia, and it was 
the twentieth day of December, 1783, when he informed 
Congress at Annapolis of his purpose. It was voted to 
make the occasion a public one, and the eager people assem- 
bled in great crowds. The house was filled, and in the 
gallery were Mrs. Washington and many other ladies. 

When Washington entered, he was led to a seat, and 
then Thomas Mifflin, the president of the body, arose and 
said to him that "the United States in Congress as- 
sembled were prepared to receive his communications." 

George Washington then arose, and though his deep 
feeling was evident to all, in a dignified manner he spoke 
as follows : — 

" Mr. President : The great events on which my resigna- 
tion depended, having at length taken place, I now have the 
honour of offering my sincere congratulations to Congress, 
and of presenting myself before them, to surrender into 
their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the 
indulgence of retiring from the service of my country. 
Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sover- 
eignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded to the 
United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign 
with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffi- 
dence ; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous 
a task, which, however, was superseded by a confidence in 
the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme 
power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven. The 
successful termination of the war has verified the most 
sanguine expectations ; and my gratitude for the interposi- 
tion of Providence, and the assistance I have received 



406 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

from my countrymen, increases with every review of the 
momentous contest. While I repeat my obligations to the 
army in general, I should do injustice to my own feelings, 
not to acknowledge in this place the peculiar services and 
distinguished merits of the gentlemen who have been 
attached to my person during the war. It was impossible 
the choice of confidential officers to compose my family 
should have been more fortunate. Permit me, sir, to 
recommend in particular those who have continued in the 
service to the present moment, as worthy of the favourable 
notice and patronage of Congress. I consider it as an 
indispensable duty to close this last act of my official life 
by commending the interests of our dearest country to 
the protection of Almighty God, and those who have 
the superintendence of them to His holy keeping. Hav- 
ing now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the 
great theatre of action, and, bidding an affectionate fare- 
well to this august body, under whose orders I have so 
long acted, I here offer my commission and take my leave 
of all the employments of public life." 

Washington then handed his commission to President 
Mifflin, who made a suitable reply, and the simple ceremony 
was completed. 

The ovation which Washington had received from the 
time when he left New York now followed him and his 
wife as they journeyed toward their home at Mount Vernon. 
Salutes, militia, music, and the cheers of the people greeted 
them on every side ; but at last, after an absence of eight 
years, during which we have, in these pages, followed him 
and his devoted fellow-patriots, he was once more in his 
own home. 

But now he had a country as well as a home, and the 



PEACE 407 

price which had been paid for it, paid in blood, and tears, 
and suffering, will never be in vain so long as true men 
and brave-hearted women cherish the memories and follow 
after the ideals of those who changed the American Colo- 
nies into the United States of America. 



INDEX 



Abercrombie, Colonel, at Yorktown, 

379- 

Abercrombie, General, 52. 

Adams, John, favours independence, 
43; plans to have Washington 
made commander, 45; member of 
committee to draft instructions and 
commission for Washington, 49; 
member of committee to draft 
Declaration of Independence, 89; 
reasons for having Jefferson draw 
up the form, 90; speech in favour of 
independence, 90; conference with 
Howe, 118; opinion of generals, 
180; said to be proposer of flag, 
226. 

Adams, Samuel, favours independence, 
43; promises to favour selection of 
Washington, 45; speech in favour 
of independence, 90 

Adoption of Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, 91, 92. 

Albemarle Old Courthouse, 365. 

Allamance, Regulators near, 30. 

Allen, Ethan, interview with Riving- 
ton, 19; in command of Green 
Mountain Boys, 53; takes Ticon- 
deroga, 55; Congress alarmed by 
his deeds, 57 ; surrender of, 230. 

Allentown, 237. 

Alliance, the, 390. 

Alliance with France, 228. 

American people, spirit of, 2. 

" Anderson, John," name assumed by 
Andre, 292. 

Andre, Major, derides Lee, 285 ; plots 
with Arnold, 294; capture of, 294; 
execution of, 297. 



Annapolis, Congress assembles at, 
405; Washington resigns commis- 
sion at, 405. 

Arbuthnot, Admiral, 364. 

Arnold, Benedict, leaves New Haven 
for Cambridge, 43; plan for taking 
Ticonderoga, 53; takes St. John's, 
56; plans to invade Canada, 77; in 
command of expedition against 
Quebec, 78; failure of, 80; with- 
draws to Montreal, 82; contest with 
Carleton on Lake Champlain, 155; 
ignored by Congress, 158; joins 
Wooster at Danbury, 167; declines 
appointment at Peekskill, 167; ad- 
vances to aid of Fort Schuyler, 199; 
wounded, 208; treason of, 289; 
burned in effigy, 298; goes to New 
York, 295; demonstration against, 
in Philadelphia, 299; in Virginia, 
334; attempt to take, 361 ; ravages 
in South, 363; at New London, 373. 

Asgill, Captain, 279. 

Ashe, Colonel, 23. 

Asia, the, 124. 

Assunpink River, 143. 

Augusta, 320, 341. 

Ball, Captain John, 346. 

Barrack Street, 153. 

Barras, Admiral de, 377. 

Barry, John, fights the Edward, 388; 

made " commander-in-chief," 388. 
Barton, Colonel William, 231. 
Baum, Colonel, 184; erects defences 

near the Walloomsac, 187. 
Bemis Heights, 205, 206, 207. 
Bennington, battle of, 187. 



409 



4io 



INDEX 



Bethlehem, 251. 
Bettys, Joe, 157. 
Bloody Pond, engagement of Tarleton 

and Lee and Pickens at, 338. 
" Bloody Rock," 253. 
Board of Associated Loyalists, 266. 
Bonetta, the, 382. 
Bon Homme Richard, 390. 
"Boston Massacre," 15. 
Boston Port Bill, 34. 
"Boston Tea Party," 16. 
Boundaries of new nation, 399. 
Bouquet, falls of the, 174. 
Brandywine, battle of, 215. 
Brant, Joseph, 191 ; plan to harass 

frontiers, 250; at Cherry Valley, 254. 
Breed's Hill, 63. 
Breyman, Colonel, 185, 188. 
Brier Creek, engagement at, 321. 
British gunboat captured, 108. 
Broad River, Sumter at the, 330. 
Bromfield, Major, at Fort Griswold, 

375- 

Bucks County [Pennsylvania] men, 59. 

Buford, Colonel, defeated by Tarleton, 
326. 

Bunker Hill, 63. 

Bunner, Colonel, 240. 

Burgoyne, John, at Boston, 60; sketch 
of, 165; at Bunker Hill, 165; ar- 
rives at Montreal, 173; at St. John's, 
173; fleet of, on Lake Champlain, 
174; at falls of the Bouquet, 174; 
victories of, 177, 178, 179; falls back 
to Skenesborough, 180; at Fort 
Edward, 181 ; at Bemis Heights, 
205, 207; starts for Saratoga, 208; 
surrender of, 209. 

Burlesque on Howe's proclamation, 

134- 
Bushnell's " marine turtle," 119. 
Butler, Colonel John, 251. 
Butler, Colonel Zebulon, 252. 
Butt's Hill taken, 246. 

Cadwalader, General, 142. 
Caldwell, James, 286. 



" Caldwell, of Springfield, N.J.," poem, 

287. 
Camden, battle of, 328, 340. 
Camilla, 267. 
Camp, Abiather, 271. 
Campbell, Colonel, 319. 
Cannon taken from Burgoyne taken 

again at the Cowpens, 336. 
Cape May, 280. 
Carleton, Governor of Canada, 77 ; at 

Quebec, 80 ; contest with Arnold, 

155- 
Castine, attack upon, 394. 

Catawba, attack near the, 352. 

Catawba Ford, 329. 

Catherine of Russia, 87. 

Cerf, the, 390. 

Chadd's Ford, 215. 

Champe, Sergeant-major, attempts to 
take Arnold, 362. 

Charleston, surrendered by Lincoln, 
326 ; evacuated by British, 386. 

Charlestown, set on fire, 66. 

Charlotte, 329. 

Chatterton Hill, 130. 

Cherry Valley, massacre of, 254. 

Chesapeake Bay, Howe lands at, 214. 

Chester, Pennsylvania, 216. 

Choisy, General de, 378. 

Clarke, Colonel, story of, 357. 

Claus, manuscript of, 253. 

Clinton, George, attempts to aid Kings- 
ton, 208 ; seizes Sir Henry Clinton's 
messenger, 209. 

Clinton, Sir Henry, in North Carolina, 
96 ; in South Carolina, 97 ; drives 
Putnam from forts on the Hudson, 
208 ; burns Kingston, 208 ; mes- 
senger seized, 209 ; abandons Phil- 
adelphia, 229 ; marches toward 
(New) Brunswick, 230 ; moves to- 
ward Navesink Highlands, 235 ; 
sails for New York, 245 ; at Spring- 
field, 286 ; attempts to tamper with 
soldiers, 312; goes south, 325; 
besieges Charleston, 325 ; leaves 
Cornwallis in command and returns 



INDEX 



411 



to New York, 326 ; deceived by 
Washington's letters, 371 ; attempts 
to divert Washington, 376. 

Collyer, Sir George, at Castine, 395. 

Columbia University (King's College), 

4- 
Commission of General Washington, 

49- 

Committee to draft Declaration of 
Independence, 89. 

Concord, stores at, 39 ; fight at, 40. 

Congress, Arnold's flagship, 157. 

Congress assembles, 12. 

"Congress' Own," regiment, 120. 

Continental money, 259. 

Continental soldiers, numbers provided 
by each colony, 399. 

"Conway Cabal," 211. 

Conyngham, the privateer, 161. 

Cook, Captain, 244. 

Cornwallis, Lord, 102 ; prepares to 
sail for England, 139 ; at Trenton, 
143 ; at Princeton, 145 ; left by 
Clinton in South Carolina, 326 ; at 
battle of Camden, 328 ; opposed to 
Greene, 334 ; pursues Morgan, 336 ; 
at Guilford Courthouse, 339 ; letter 
to Tarleton concerning Sumter, 354; 
in Virginia, 364 ; trap for Lafayette, 
366 ; " bottled up " at Yorktown, 
377 ; besieged at Yorktown, 379 ; 
attempts to cross to Gloucester Point, 
380; surrender of, 380. 

Cost of war, 399. 

"Cow Chase," the, 285. 

Cowpens, battle of, 335. 

Craig, Colonel, 384. 

Cranberry, troops at, 237. 

Cruger, Colonel, in command of Ninety- 
Six, 341. 

Cunningham, William, provost-mar- 
shal, 152; confession of, 152. 

Custis, Mr., Washington adopts chil- 
dren of, 385. 



Daggett, President, 268. 
" Danbury, Expedition to, 



168. 



" Daniel Morgan's Riflemen," 72. 

Dan River, 338. 

Darrah, Lydia, 220. 

Dartmouth College, 191. 

Deep River, Greene at, 339. 

Delaplace, Captain, in command of 
Ticonderoga, 52 ; surrenders, 55. 

Delaware River, Washington crosses, 
138. 

Denison, Colonel, 252. 

Destouches, 363. 

Dickinson, General, 237, 238. 

Dickinson, John, speech in opposition 
to Declaration of Independence, 91. 

Diligence, sloop, 23. 

Dillard, Mrs., bravery of, 357. 

" Domestic History of American Revo- 
lution," 357. 

Dorrance, Colonel, 252. 

Draie, privateer, 389. 

Dundas, Colonel, 380. 

Dunkirk, 161. 

Dunop, Count, at Burlington, 139. 

Duras, the, 390. 

"Dutch Butchers," 134. 

Dutch settlers in America, 3. 

Eagle, attempt to blow up the, 119. 

East Florida, movement from, 318. 

East India Company, 16. 

Easton, 251. 

Ebenezer, British headquarters at, 320. 

Edwards, Stephen, the spy, 276. 

Egg Harbor, 279. 

Elizabethtown, New Jersey, 95. 

Elkton, Washington at, 372. 

Eltham, Washington at, 385. 

Emerson, William, letter of, 70. 

English, feeling of, for colonies, 5. 

Englishtown, 237. 

Enoree, Sumter at the, 330. 

Estaing, Count d', at Newport, 245; 
invites Canadians to join the French, 
247; arrives at the South with his 
fleet, 323; sails away, 324. 

Eutaw Springs, battle of, 342. 

Evacuation of Boston, 83. 



412 



INDEX 



Evacuation of New York by the British, 

403. 
Ewing, General, at the Delaware, 

139. 
Eyre, Colonel, attempts to seite Fort 
Griswold, 375. 

Fable of sheep and mastiffs, 136. 
Fagan, the pine robber, 276. 
Fairfield, burning of, 270. 
Falmouth (Portland), burning of, 86. 
Falmouth, prison ship, 314. 
Faneuil Hall, 94. 
Fanning fined, 28. 
Farewell, Washington's, 404. 
Farr, Thomas, 274. 
Fenton, the pine robber, 274. 
Ferguson, Colonel, at King's Moun- 
tain, 330; pursuit of Colonel Clarke, 

357. 
Fire in New York, 126. 
First battle, 22. 

First Continental Congress, 36. 
Fishing Creek, 329. 
Flag, first American, unfurled, 198; 

the story of, 225. 
Forbes, Gilbert, 104. 
Fort Anne, 179. 
Fort Cornwallis, 341. 
Fort Dayton, 194. 
Fort Edward, 179. 
Fort Granby, 341. 
Fort Griswold, attack upon, 375. 
Fort Jenkins, 252. 
Fort Lee, flight of army from, 133. 
Fort Mercer, 217. 
Fort Mifflin, 217. 
Fort Motte, 341. 
Fort Niagara, 251. 
Fort Schuyler, 192. 
Fort Stanwix, 192. 
Fort Washington, defeat at, 131. 
Fort Wintermoot, 252. 
Forty Fort, 251. 
" Four intolerable acts," 34. 
France, relations of, with the colonies, 

227. 



Francis, Colonel, 177. 

Frankford Mills, 221. 

Franklin, Benjamin, claims for colo- 
nies, 5; sent to England, 37; mem- 
ber of committee to draft Declaration 
of Independence, 89; conference 
with Howe, 118; goes to France, 
160; his labours, 388. 

Franklin, William, 266. 

Fraser, General, pursues Americans, 
176; death of, 207. 

Fraunce's Tavern, dinner at, 403; 
Washington's farewell to officers at, 
404. 

Fredericktown, prisoners at, 382. 

Freeman's Farm, 206, 207. 

French fleet and soldiers sent to 
America, 228. 

French settlers in America, 3. 

Frontenac, 51. 

Gage, General, at New York, 12; in 
Boston, 15; troubles of, 38; be- 
sieged, 60; proclamation, 61. 

Gansevoort, Colonel Peter, in com- 
mand of Fort Schuyler, 192. 

Garden's "Anecdotes of the War," 

354- 

Gaspee, prisoners on board the, 231. 

Gaspee, revenue boat, burned, 15. 

Gates, General, fails at Burlington, 
139; goes to Baltimore, 140; suc- 
ceeds Schuyler, 202; praised for 
work not his own, 21 1; petty reply 
to Washington's offer, 257; super- 
sedes de Kalb, 327; at battle of 
Camden, 328; rallies army at Hills- 
borough, 329. 

Gauntlet, running the, 306. 

Geake, Sam, 193. 

Gee, Captain, story of, 355. 

Geiger, Emily, ride of, 358. 

Georgia, no representatives in first 
congress, 12. 

Germain, Lord George, secures com- 
mand for John Burgoyne, 165; 
urges employment of Indians, 249. 



INDEX 



413 



<Jermantown, battle of, 217; influence 
of, upon French, 218. 

Gerard, M., 245. 

Gillon, Alexander, exploit of, 351. 

Glasgow, the, attacked, 387. 

Gloucester Point, Cornwallis attempts 
to cross to, 380. 

Glover, Colonel, 140. 

Goldin, John, 279. 

Good Hope, prison ship, 314. 

Gosport, 324. 

Gould, Mrs., story of, 254. 

Grasse, Count de, arrives at the Chesa- 
peake, 368; at Yorktown, 378; re- 
ceives thanks of Congress, 384; 
refuses to transport troops, 384; sails 
for West Indies, 385. 

Graves, Admiral, 377. 

Gray, General, 216. 

Greene, Nathanael, 73; work on Long 
Island, in; at Fort Lee, 127; at 
Trenton, 139, 143; at Hopewell, 
235; at Monmouth, 238; wife of, in 
camp, 307; abandons purpose to 
resign, 333; in command at the 
South, 334; at Pedee River, 335; 
appears in Morgan's camp, 337; 
crosses the Yadkin, 337; crosses the 
Dan, 338; at Guilford Courthouse, 
339; moves toward Camden, 339; 
at battle of Camden, 340 ; besieges 
Ninety-Six, 341 ; at the Enoree, 341 ; 
at Eutaw Springs, 342. 

Green Spring, 357. 

" Greens," the, 273. 

Grenadier, British, capture of a, 128. 

Grenville, George (Lord North), pre- 
pares Stamp Act, 10. 

Guilford Courthouse, battle of, 338. 

Hale, Nathan, 120. 

Hamilton, Colonel, at Yorktown, 381. 

Hamilton, Ninian Bell, 26. 

Hancock, John, known as King Han- 
cock, 44; signs Washington's com- 
mission, 49. 

Hanging Rock, Sumter at, 327. 



Harlem, battle of, 126. 

Harrison, Benjamin, 89. 

Hart, Nancy, story of, 358. 

Harvard University founded, 4. 

Hayne, Colonel Isaac, 343. 

Heath, General, in command at the 
highlands, 131. 

Henry, Patrick, eloquence of, IO; in- 
troduces resolutions, II. 

Herkimer, General, assembles militia, 
194; advances toward Fort Schuy- 
ler, 195; death of, 196. 

Hessians, hired, 87 ; feelings of Ameri- 
cans toward, 87; dress, 87; at Tren- 
ton, 141; tempted to desert, 244. 

Hillsborough, Gates rallies army at, 

329- 

Hobkirk's Hill, 340. 

Hopewell, Washington at, 234. 

Hopkins, Ezekiel, 161, 387; attacks 
the Glasgow, 387; dismissed by Con- 
gress, 388. 

Houston, James, stamp master, 23. 

Howe, General Robert, attempts to 
defend Georgia, 319. 

Howe, Richard, appointed admiral of 
British fleet in America, 37; at New 
York, 108; pretends to attack New- 
port, 112; movements of, 127; fleet 
of, at Navesink Highlands, 245. 

Howe, William, succeeds Gage, 37; 
at Boston, at New York, 103; let- 
ter to Washington, 105 ; at battle of 
Long Island, 1 1 1 ; moves to Throg's 
Neck, 127; at White Plains, 130; 
attacks Fort Washington, 132; proc- 
lamations, 134; sends Tryon to 
Danbury, 166; plans to take Phila- 
delphia, 212; off Delaware River, 
214; lands on shore of Chesapeake 
Bay, 214; at Brandy wine, 215; in 
possession of Philadelphia, 217. 

Hubbardton, battle of, 177. 

Huddy, Captain Joshua, 277. 

Hunt, Abraham, 141. 

Hunter, prison ship, 314. 

Huntington, Colonel, 105. 



414 



INDEX 



Husband, Herman, leader of Sons of 

Liberty, 24, 28, 29. 
Huyler, Captain Adam, exploits of, 

280. 

Isle Aux TStes, 155. 

Jamaica Road, 1 1 2. 

Jameson, Colonel, 295. 

James River, Cornwallis at, 366. 

Jefferson, Thomas, sent to Congress in 
place of Peyton Randolph, 43; mem- 
ber of committee to draft Declara- 
tion of Independence, 89; makes 
the draft, 89. 

Jersey, prison ship, 314. 

John's Island, last engagement in the 
war at, 386. 

Johnson, Sir John, 191. 

Johnson, Sir William, 192. 

"Johnson's Royal Greens," 191, 195. 

Johnston's "Traditions and Reminis- 
cences of the American Revolution," 

345- 

Jones, John Paul, 161 ; first to carry 
flag on sea, 226, 389, 390; sets sail 
with fleet for British coast, 391; 
fight with the Serapis, 392; in Hol- 
land, 394; honours of, 394; death 
of, 394. 

Jones, Pomroy, 199. 

Joseph, British brig, 162. 

Kalb, Baron de, 327; at battle of 
Camden, 328; death of, 328; letter 

of, 354- 
Kent's Landing, 324. 
King's Mountain, battle of, 330. 
Kip, the moon-curser, 105. 
Knight, Mary, 224. 

Knowlton, Colonel, 1 20; death of, 126. 
Knox, General, at Trenton, 139; at 

Elkton, 372; at Yorktown, 378; 

praised for work at Yorktown, 383 ; 

at Washington's farewell, 404. 
Knox, General, wife of, in camp, 307. 
Knyphausen, General, 325. 
Kosciusko, 205; in the South, 334. 



Lafayette, at Monmouth, 236, 244; 
work in France, 332; in Virginia, 
363; at Yorktown, 379; praised for 
work at Yorktown, 383. 

Lancaster, Congress flees to, 219; 
prisoners at, 382. 

Landais, Captain, 390. 

Langdon, Dr., prayer of, 63. 

Laurens, Colonel, 380. 

Ledyard, Colonel, surrenders Fort 
Griswold, 375. 

Lee, Charles, 73; in South Carolina, 
98; fails Washington, 133; at Mor- 
ristown, 138; capture of, 138; plots 
with Howe, 163; exchanged for 
Prescott, 232; at Hopewell, 235; 
at battle of Monmouth, 241 ; court- 
martial of, 241; letter to Wayne, 
263. 

Lee, Colonel Harry, at Monmouth, 
275; at Paulus Hook, 284; in the 
South, 334; at Bloody Pond, 338; 
expeditions of, 339; stories of, 355; 
plans to capture Arnold, 364. 

Lee, Ezra, 119. 

Lee, Richard Henry, member of com- 
mittee to draft commission for 
Washington, 49; introduces resolu- 
tion declaring the colonies to be 
free, 88. 

Leslie, General, 334. 

Lexington, fight at, 39. 

" Liberty Bell," 92. 

Libe?~ty, John Hancock's sloop, burned, 

Liberty, Sons of, organized, 1 1 ; activ- 
ity, 24. 

Lincoln, General, at Manchester, 187 ; 
in rear of Burgoyne, 206 ; at Charles- 
ton, 320 ; attempts to take Stono 
Ferry, 323 : surrenders Charleston, 
326 ; receives surrender of Corn- 
wallis, 381 ; praised for work at 
Yorktown, 383. 

Lion, man-of-war, capture of, 282. 

Lippincott, attempt to capture, 282. 

Livingstone, Robert R., 89. 



INDEX 



415 



Long Island, battle of, 114. 

Lovell, General, 395 ; acquitted by 

Massachusetts court, 396. 
Luzerne, Chevalier de la, letter of 

Baron de Kalb to, 354. 
Lynhaven Bay, French fleet at, 377. 

Macdonald, Alan, 97. 

Macdonald, Flora, 97. 

Magraw, Colonel, 131. 

Manchester, 187. 

Manning, Lieutenant, bravery of, in 
battle of Eutaw Springs, 356. 

Marion, Francis, 327 ; movements of, 
330, 339 ; joins Greene at Eutaw 
Springs, 342 ; story of, dining with 
British officer, 345 ; called " Swamp 
Fox," 346 ; his men, 347, 348. 

Marion, Oscar, brother of Francis, 

346. 

Martin family, incidents of the, 354. 

Massachusetts Bill, 35. 

Massacre at Schenectady, 51. 

Matthews, David, 103. 

Mawhood, Colonel, 144. 

Maxwell, General, 235. 

McCrea, Jane, 181. 

McLane, Allen, exploits of, 222. 

McLean, General, at Castine, 394. 

McNeal, Mrs., 181. 

M'Dougall, Colonel, 105. 

M'Intosh, Colonel, in command at 
Sunbury, 318. 

M'Kean, Thomas, President of Con- 
gress, 383. 

Mercer, General, fall of, 144. 

Middletown, 237. 

Midway, 318, 319. 

Mifflin, President, speech in response 
to Washington's in resigning his 
commission, 406. 

" Minute-men," preparations of, 38. 

Mischianza, 222. 

Monckton, Colonel, 240. 

Monmouth, battle of, 235. 

Montagnie the preacher, story of, 371. 

Montgomery, General, at Lake Cham- 



plain, 77 ; at St. John's, 78 ; takes 
Fort Chambly, 78 ; goes to Mon- 
treal, 78 ; death of, 81. 

Moore, Mrs., commissioners meet at 
house of, 380. 

Moore's Creek, 97. 

Morgan, Daniel, 72 ; calls for death 
of General Fraser, 207 ; at battle of 
Monmouth, 236. 

Morgan, General, 334 ; at battle of 
the Cowpens, 335. 

Morris, Robert, 147, 332. 

Moses Creek, 181. 

Motte, Mrs. Jacob, sacrifice of her 
property, 355. 

Moultrie, Fort, 100. 

Moultrie, William, 98 ; at Fort Royal 
Island, 321 ; retires toward Charles- 
ton, 322. 

Mount Defiance, 175. 

Murray, Mistress, assists Americans in 
escape from New York, 125. 

Navesink Highlands, 235. 

Navigation Acts, 8, 9. 

Nelson's Ferry, 341. 

Newburgh, 402. 

New England, feeling against, 8 ; 
commerce of, 8. 

New Hampshire, no representatives in 
first congress, 12. 

New Haven, attack on, by Tryon, 267. 

New Jersey appropriates money in 
treasury, 59. 

New Jersey Gazette, account in, of 
surrender at Yorktown, 382. 

New Jersey mother, a, 95. 

New London, attack upon, 374. 

Newtown, battle at, 258. 

Ninety-Six, men from, 321. 

Noailles, Viscount de, 380. 

"No-flint general," 216. 

North Carolina, no representatives in 
first congress, 12 ; quarrel with 
governor, 15 ; declares for inde- 
pendence, 88. 

North Castle, Washington at, 130. 



416 



INDEX 



Officers, threats and pleas of, 403. 

Ogden, Captain Aaron, 379. 

•Ogeechee River, 318. 

O'Hara, General, at Yorktown, 381. 

" Old Buffs," a British regiment, 356. 

"Old King," 252. 

" Old Sow," alarm gun, 286. 

Oneida Indians, 192; destroyed by 
Brant, 258. 

Orangeburgh, 342. 

Oriskany, battle of, 195. 

Otis, James, eloquence of, 11 ; sug- 
gestions for a general congress, 12. 

Overton, Mr., 232. 

Paine, Thomas, believes in indepen- 
dence, 86. 
Pallas, the, 390. 
Pamunkey River, Cornwallis crosses, 

365- 

Paoli, 216. 

Parker, Sir Hyde, 319. 

Patriot, a Jersey, falls, 234. 

Paulding, John, 294. 

Pay of officers, 164. 

Peace, treaty of, signed, 399. 

Pearson, Captain, surrenders to John 
Paul Jones, 393. 

Pedee River, Greene at, 335. 

Penobscot (Castine), engagement at, 
394- 

Percy, Lord, at Boston, 83. 

Petersburg, Cornwallis at, 364. 

Phillips, General, 175, 364. 

Pickens, Colonel, 320, 338, 339. 

Pigot, Sir Robert, 246, 247. 

" Pine Robbers," 273. 

" Pine Tree Flag," 225. 

Pitcairn, Major, 39. 

" Pitcher, Molly," 242. 

" Pompey," negro slave, 261. 

Pompton, revolt of New Jersey troops 
at, 313. 

Poor, General, 239. 

Population of colonies, 42. 

Portail, du, praised for work at York- 
town, 383. 



Port Royal Island, 321. 

Portsmouth, seizing vessels at, 324. 

Prescott, General, captured and ex- 
changed, 231. 

Prevost, General, 319. 

Prince of Orange, packet, 162. 

Prince of IVales, prison ship, 314. 

Princeton, battle of, 144. 

Princeton University (College of New 
Jersey), 4. 

Printing-press, first, 4. 

Prisoners, sufferings of, 150. 

Prisons, 152, 313. 

Prison ships, 314. 

Privateers, 388. 

Proclamation of Washington, 148. 

Produce sent by American colonists to 
England in 1 760, 4. 

Proposition of General Howe for peace. 
118. 

Pulaski, Count, 324. 

Punishment for theft, 306. 

Putnam, Israel, leaves Pomfret for 
Cambridge, 42; on Long Island, 
Hi; in command of rear-guard in 
New York, 119; driven from forts 
on the Hudson, 208. 

Quebec Bill, attack on, 35. 
Queen Esther, 253. 

Rail, Colonel, 141. 

Ramapo Pass, the, 371. 

Randolph, Peyton, chosen president 

of Congress, 36; unable to attend 

second session, 43. 
Ranger, privateer, 389. 
Rapelje, Mrs., 117. 
Rattlesnake flag, 74. 
Rawdon, Colonel, 339 ; at battle of 

Camden, 340. 
Reception of news of adoption of 

Declaration of Independence, 93 

94, 95- 
" Refugee Town," 273. 
" Regiment, The Lost," 338. 
Regulators (Regulation), 25. 



INDEX 



417 



Reid, Captain, 226. 

Reprisal, the, 161. 

Revenge, privateer, 162, 389* 

Revere, Paul, sent with message to 
Salem, 36. 

Revolt of New Jersey troops, 313. 

Revolt of Pennsylvania line, 303, 307. 

Richmond, 365. 

Riedesel, Baron de, 177. 

Riedesel, Baroness de, 21 1. 

Rivington's Gazette, story in, 371. 

Rivington, the Tory, 18. 

Rochambeau, at Hartford, 295 ; in- 
terview with Washington, 369 ; at 
Elkton, 372 ; receives thanks of 
Congress, 3S4; in Virginia, 385; at 
the Hudson, 385 ; in New England, 
385 ; sails for home, 385. 

Ross, Betsey, 226. 

Ross, Major, 380. 

Rouse's Point, 155. 

Rutledge, Edward, member of com- 
mittee to draft commission for Wash- 
ington, 49; speech in favour of 
independence, 90; conference with 
Howe, 118. 

Rutledge, John, 98. 

Sakayenguaraghkton, 250. 

Salt, price of, in American camp, 305. 

Sandy Hook, 273. 

" Saratoga, the Capture at," 209. 

Savannah, 319; attack upon, 323. 

Schuyler, Hanyost, story of, 199. 

Schuyler, Philip, in command at Lake 

Champlain, 76 ; sends aid to St. 

Clair, 179; abuse of, 198; sends 

aid to Fort .Schuyler, 198. 
Scorpion, 267. 
Scorpion, prison ship, 314. 
Serapis, fight of John Paul Jones with, 

392. 
Shankland, Mr., story of, 255. 
Sherman, Roger, 89. 
Shippen, Margaret, 290. 
Shoemaker's, party captured at, 199. 
Shrewsbury, 237. 



Silver Springs, 341. 

Simons, Robert, story of, 348. 

Six Nations, 257. 

Skenesborough, 176, 178; burned, 179. 

Skunk, the privateer, 279. 

Slocumb, Lieutenant, story of, 349; 

his wife's patriotism, 350. 
Smallwood's Marylanders, 113. 
Smith, Peter, 255. 
Snell, Captain, 279. 
Soldier's, a, letter from camp at Mor- 

ristown, 305. 
Spain, trouble of, with England, 229. 
Spanish settlers in America, 3. 
Springfield, battle at, 286. 
Stamp Act, 9; passed by Parliament, 

10; its nature, 10; opposition to, 10. 
Stark, John, leaves New Hampshire 

for Cambridge, 43; at Manchester, 

186; at Bennington, 187. 
Stark, Molly, 187. 
Statue of George III. in New York 

torn down, 93. 
St. Augustine, 321. 
St. Clair, General, 175; sent to the aid 

of Greene, 386; in North Carolina, 

386. 
Stephen, General, 218. 
Steuben, Baron, work at Valley Forge, 

230; in Virginia, 334, 364, 367; 

praised for work at Yorktown, 383. 
Stirling, Lord, 112, 113. 
St. Leger, Barry, 166; arrives at Os- 
wego, 191 ; advances toward Fort 

Stanwix, 192; flight of, 202. 
Stone, Colonel William L., account of 

Jane McCrea, 181. 
Stono Ferry, Lincoln attempts to take, 

323- 
Stony Point, taking of, 261. 
Stromboli, prison ship, 314. 
Suffolk, 324. 

"Sugar house" prisons, 313. 
Sugar Loaf Hill, 175. 
Sullivan, General, succeeds Thomas, 

82; at battle of Long Island, 112; 

sent as messenger by General Howe, 



418 



INDEX 



117; at the Delaware, 139; at bat- 
tle of Trenton, 141 ; at Brandywine, 
215; at Providence, 246; anger at 
French, 248; expedition against the 
Indians, 258. 

Sullivan's Island, 98. 

Sumter, General, 327; at Williamson's 
plantation, 327; at Rocky Mount, 
327; at Hanging Rock, 327; de- 
feats the regiment " Prince of 
Wales," 327; captures supplies, 
328; defeated by Tarleton, 329; 
various movements of, 330; opinion 
of Cornwallis concerning, 354. 

Sunbury, attack upon, 318. 

Surprise, privateer, 162. 

Surprise, privateer, 389. 

Surrender of John Burgoyne, 209. 

Swartout, Captain Abraham, 198. 

Swedes in America, 3. 

Tallmadge, Major, 223. 

Tanner's Creek, 324. 

Tappan, Washington at, 361. 

Tarleton, Colonel, defeats Buford, 
326; defeats Sumter, 329; at battle 
of the Cowpens, 335; at Bloody 
Pond, 338; interview with Mrs. 
Slocumb, 350. 

Taxation, reasons for, 6; Stamp Act, 9. 

"Tea Party" on Cohansey Creek, 17. 

Tea, people refuse to drink, 14; tax 
on, 14. 

Tehowaghwengaraghkwin, 191. 

Ternay, Admiral de, 333. 

Thatcher's Military Journal, 305. 

Thayendanegea, 191. 

Thirteen, a magic number, 272. 

Thomas, General, command and death, 
82. 

Throg'sNeck, Howe's advance to, 127. 

Ticonderoga, original name of, 51; 
taken by Ethan Allen, 55. 

Tilghman, Colonel, Washington's mes- 
senger to Congress, 383. 

" Tommo, Captain," 184. 

Tories, departure of, after the war, 400. 



Tories, feeling against the, 265. 

Transportation Bill, 35. 

Trenton, battle uf, 142. 

Tryon, Governor, in North Carolina, 
23 ; new residence, 25 ; order to 
fire upon the Regulators, 32 ; de- 
parts from North Carolina, 33 ; be- 
comes Governor of New York, 33 ; 
flees on board ship, 103 ; expedition 
to Danbury, 166; attacks New 
Haven, 267 ; plunders Fairfield, 
270. 

Tyger, Sumter at the, 330. 

" Unite or Die," 18. 

University of Pennsylvania founded, 4. 

Valcour Island, 155. 
Valley Forge, 219. 
Van Wart, Isaac, 294. 
Vengeance, the, privateer, 390. 
Ville de Paris, flagship, 378. 
Viomenil, Baron de, 379. 
Virginians, feeling against, 9 ; no rep- 
resentatives in first congress, 12. 
Vulture, the, 294. 

Waddel, General, marches to join 

Tryon, 30. 
Wadsworth, General, at Castine, 394 ; 

acquitted by Massachusetts court, 

395- 

Wallabocht, the, 314. 

Walloomsac River, 187. 

Ward, General Artemas, 45. 

Warner, Colonel, 177 ; arrives at 
Bennington, 189. 

Warren, Dr., in battle of Bunker Hill, 
64. 

Warwick Point, 232. 

Washington, Colonel William, sent 
toward Ninety-Six, 335 ; at the 
battle of the Cowpens, 335 ; pursues 
Tarleton, 336 ; at the battle of Cam- 
den, 340. 

Washington, George, nominated as 
commander, 47 ; speech of accept- 



INDEX 



419 



ance, 48 ; leaves Philadelphia for 
Cambridge, 50 ; arrives at Cam- 
bridge, 68 ; orders for the army, 69; 
compels British to evacuate Boston, 
83 ; at New York, 103 ; plot to 
poison, 104 ; letter of Howe to, 
105 ; crosses from Long Island, 
116; withdraws from New York, 
125; at White Plains, 127; at 
North Castle, 130 ; retreat across 
New Jersey, 137 ; crosses Delaware, 
138; at Trenton, 139; at Prince- 
ton, 144 ; at Morristown, 148 ; proc- 
lamation of, 148 ; Conway cabal, 
211; Brandywine, 215; German- 
town, 217; follows Clinton, 233 ; at 
Hopewell, 234 ; at battle of Mon- 
mouth, 241 ; his account of, 241 ; 
at White Plains, 245 ; authorized 
by Congress to retaliate on Indians, 
256 ; arranges for Sullivan's expedi- 
tion, 257 ; troubles of, 259 ; repri- 
mands Arnold, 291 ; consults Ro- 
chambeau, 295 ; discovers Arnold's 
treason, 295 ; housekeeper at Mor- 
ristown provides food for, 304 ; at 
New Windsor, 311 ; deals with 
revolt of soldiers, 311 ; interview 
with Rochambeau at Wethersfield, 
369 ; plans to hold Clinton in New 
York, 370; starts for the South, 372; 
receives surrender of Cornwallis, 
379 ; receives thanks of Congress, 
384 ; goes to Eltham, 385 ; at 
Philadelphia, 385 ; plea for soldiers, 
402 ; farewell of officers, 404 ; re- 
signs commission, 405 ; speech at 
Annapolis, 405 ; honours, 406 ; de- 
parts for home, 406. 

Washington, in Arnold's fleet, 157. 

Wayne, Anthony, at Paoli, 216; re- 
joins army at Chester, 217; at battle 
of Monmouth, 236; takes Stony 
Point, 261; letter to Washington, 
263; Congress votes medal for, 263; 
nicknamed "Polly," 272; at the 
revolt of the Pennsylvania line, 308; 



in Virginia, 365; engagement with 
British, 367; in Georgia, 386; in 
South Carolina, 386. 

Wells, Jane, story of, 255. 

Westmoreland, 251. 

Wethersfield, Washington and Ro- 
chambeau at, 369. 

Wheelock, Dr., 191. 

Whitby, prison ship, 314. 

White, Colonel John, daring deed of, 

324. 

Willett, Colonel, arrives at Fort 
Schuyler, 194; attacks St. Leger's 
camp, 196; words to British mes- 
senger, 197. 

William and Mary, College of, 4. 

Williamsburgh, 366, 373. 

Williams, Colonel, 327. 

Williams, David, 294. 

Williamson's Plantation, 327. 

Wilmington, 384. 

Wilmot, Captain, last man to fall in 
battle, 386. 

Wilson, Ensign, receives British colours 
at Yorktown, 382. 

Winchester, prisoners at, 382. 

Withdrawal of Americans from New 
York, 125. 

Witherspoon, Dr., speech in favour of 
independence, 90. 

Withers, William, story of, 348. 

Wood Creek, 193, 202. 

Woodford, General, 239. 

Wooster, General, succeeds Arnold, 
82; at Danbury, 167; death of, 
172. 

Wyandot Panther, 182. 

Wyoming Valley, settled by Connecti- 
cut people, 25 1 ; massacre of, 253. 

Yadkin, Greene retreats across the, 

337- 
Yale University founded, 4. 
York River, French fleet blockades, 

377- 
Yorktown, Cornwallis moves to, 368; 
at siege of, 379; surrender at, 381. 

(1) 



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